The Hero I Wanted to Be
by tmart.x13
Summary: Zack Fair has been trapped in the Realm of Darkness for a while. He had wandered all over and fought off countless Heartless in an effort to just survive. His fight to maintain his optimism is a tough one, as the darkness tries to creep in as he is alone. But, is he really? Who...or what else will he encounter. (Cover image by @starletheaven on Twitter. I have permission for it.)
1. Chapter 1

Hello all. This is my very first fanfiction writing. It's an idea I have had for a little while, so I have a plan for the story. Also, I want to give huge credit to my co-author, Riku Kingdom Hearts, for helping this story come to life and being a great editor. Now enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy.

* * *

 **Ch.1**

Zack had been wandering through the Realm of Darkness for what seemed like forever. But since there was no day or night, it was impossible to keep track of time. It was sometimes hard for him to even remember the last time he saw much light. Over the course of this time, Zack had been fighting almost nonstop against the Heartless that plague the darkened realm. So many Heartless inhabit this realm, and Zack sometimes wondered if it's okay to get rid of them. However, he quickly realized the Heartless do not share the same mentality; so, he had to make a choice to either survive or become one of them. Much had changed in the time he has been here: his demeanor, his outlook, even his appearance, now looking like a war-torn man.

His spiky, black hair was as unkempt as ever now. A few stray strands of hair flowed just a few inches below his eyes as he once again slicked it back as to not impair his functionality. His face was more serious, his eyes more narrowed, and dark shadows had formed under his eyes from the long hardships he had endured.

His face had some minor scarring, with a X-shaped scar across the left cheek. He ran his fingers across the scar as he thought back to the Invisible that caught him by surprise, the Invisible that caused damage to his once boyish face. His whole body was covered in various small and faint scars, most notably on his arms. The wear and tear from his time there had really begun to show, his outfit was tattered from the countless Heartless battles he had fought.

His sword was a reflection of himself now. What once was a glistening, new blade that reflected the light ever so brightly was now worn and rigid, the blades looking more like teeth marks with the shattered metal being easily noticeable. He stopped for a second, or what seemed like a second, looking up at the dark sky, the only illumination from a faint, pale moonlight. His royal-blue eyes contrasted against the darkness as he pondered his situation.

 _'Just how much longer do I have to go on? I've been here for what seems like years...though it always feels like hardly any time has gone by at all. I always wanted to be a hero, but this is getting to be a bit rough, even for me.'_ Zack then chuckled to himself, with a faint smile coming across his face, _'Ah what are you saying Zack, don't think like that! It's not what Cloud would want to see in his friend.'_

His outlook on life had changed drastically, as he was less of an idealistic boy and more of a realistic man. Zack knew how things were, but he still tried to keep the darkness from clouding his heart. He thought back to his protege, and friend; Cloud. He thought about Cloud to give himself strength, knowing that he was safe. That he had protected him. But the self doubt crept in slowly, knowing that Sephiroth still roamed in that world.

 _'I still don't understand...why would he betray us like that? It's like, something took hold of him, turned him into some kind of monster. Maybe once I get out of here I can figure it out. If I ever get out. I don't know anymore. There has to be an end to this somewhere.'_

As Zack was lost in thought, several Shadow Heartless and Invisible Heartless appeared and surround him. He looked around to count five of each foe. With a sly grin coming across his sullen face, he readied his weary blade as he took his stance. "We're doing this again I see. Come on and lets get this over with then."

Zack rushed forward into the crowd of Shadow Heartless, sliding onto one knee as he came to the center of the group. He grasped the sword with both hands, and swung the blade in a clockwise motion around all of the Heartless, quickly disposing of them. He stood back up and turned toward the Invisibles, ready to take care of them. He dashed forward quickly, while the first Invisible raised it's sword to strike downard. Zack slid on to a knee, avoiding the sword underneath and stabbing the heartless from the back. He jumped to his feet quickly as two other Invisibles closed in.

As they both swung their swords, he raised his. With one hand on the blade and the other on the hilt, he blocked the attack. He mustered the strength to push them away, once again grabbing the sword with both hands on the hilt and slicing them both sideways in half. He looked at the final two enemies in front of him and gave them a wink before sprinting towards them. He ran towards the one to the left of him, quickly avoiding its strike, and slashed diagonally upward across its back. He watched it fall to the ground out of the corner of his eye. He adjusted his stance as he jumped backward to avoid the final enemy that hand swung its sword towards the spot where he was formerly. Zack readied his sword and lunged forward, running the heartless through and slicing upward to eliminate the last one.  
Zack surveyed the area quickly to assure there were no other enemies. Once he saw that there were no more Heartless in sight, he bent over in exhaustion. He took in some deep breaths, trying to gather his thoughts once more after another battle. He clenched his fists, knowing that he had to find a way out soon. He was tired of the fighting and tired of feeling trapped. His resolve to find his friends and be the hero that he wanted to be had kept him on the right path so far.

However, there was a strong darkness that surrounded him in this place. It felt heavy, and as time had passed, it grew larger, weighing him down as he tried to continue. The weight of the darkness had began to take hold and slowly break him down. His heart felt heavy and his determination faded away. He didn't know what to do anymore. He was tired of wandering aimlessly. As much as he didn't want to give up, he just couldn't help it. With a heavy sigh he dropped down to his knees and buried his head in his hands in despair.

As he found himself at this lowest point, he heard a familiar voice, accompanied by a black feather floating down in front of his eyes. Zack looked up to see none other than Sephiroth standing several feet in front of him. Zack suddenly jumped to his feet at the sight of his mentor-turned-foe. He then began to question him.

"Sephiroth?!" Zack gasped. "How are you here? Have you come to help? Or...are you still not yourself? If so...let me help you!"

Glaring down at Zack, with a cynical smile, Sephiroth responded, "Oh Zack, I see you're still holding onto some of that optimism you love so much. Just give into the darkness that is here and become like me."

"No! I could never become like you. You betrayed Cloud and me. Why? I wanted to become a hero like you were. Not...whatever it is you are now."

"I have become one with the darkness itself, and it has given me immense power. If you join me and bask in the dark power, then you can become strong and be the hero you always wanted to be," exclaimed Sephiroth as he raised his Masamune sword, as if preparing to do battle. The tip of the blade was only a mere few inches away from Zack's chest. Zack stepped back a bit, though he didn't take his eyes off of Sephiroth.

As Zack looked closer, he could tell that something had indeed changed in Sephiroth. Something just felt off about him. Zack couldn't quiet place his finger on it, but he knew something wasn't right. Sephiroth's eyes were darkened, though they seemed to have a strange glow to them at the same time. There was also a strange, faint purple aura around him, that made the hairs on the back of Zack's neck stand up.

Zack shook his head in disbelief as he took another step back. "You can't be real. This can't be real. I've been here so long, I'm not sure what is real anymore."

Sephiroth rushed towards Zack swiftly. Zack barely had any time to bring his sword up to parry the blow. Sephiroth had that ever-so-confident grin on his face. "Zack, I can assure you that I am as real as you remember me. Now, come at me with everything you have. I'll show you just how weak you really are."

Without a response from Zack, they both jumped back away from each other and stared at each other intensely as they readied there stances.

* * *

That wraps up chapter 1! I hope you all enjoyed it so far. We have been working on this for a little while, so chapter 2 should be up next week. Let me know what you thought of the story so far. Feedback is appreciated. :)


	2. Chapter 2

Hello guys and welcome back to the story, co-authored by my good friend **Riku Kingdom Hearts**. This is chapter 2 and it seeks to deal with that cliffhanger we left you at last time. XD Now, let's get to the story.

* * *

 **Ch. 2**

Sephiroth and Zack stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity. Without hesitation, their blades collided. The weight of the Masamune began to encroach upon Zack's rugged, dull blade. He slightly bent his knee as he pushed upward against the longsword enough to escape its swing. Sephiroth then began swinging the sword at a distance towards Zack, alternating diagonal swipes downward with each swing. Trying to keep up with Sephiroth, as he teleported from one location to the next, Zack barely had time to evade the last swing as the wind pressure from it made him slightly wince. Seeing the opportunity, Sephiroth launched his Firaga Wall to try and pull Zack to him.

As he began to be sucked forward, Zack raised his sword high and planted it firmly in the ground to prevent from being dragged in. Zack struggled to maintain his balance as Sephiroth began to gloat. "It's useless to fight against it Zack. Just allow yourself to be taken in and let the darkness into your heart. You've been here so long. Just give up, knowing that you failed Cloud and yourself."

Zack tensed up at the sound of Cloud's name emanating from Sephiroth's cruel grinning face. He threw a glance towards Sephiroth that was cold as ice as, he began to stand his ground amidst the intense gravity.

"Don't you dare...say his name. I will get back to my friend again. I won't let you keep us apart anymore!" Zack muttered through gritted teeth. With that, Zack broke free of the grip of Sephiroth's attack and began to charge at him at full sprint.

He charged his foe with intensity. Sephiroth effortlessly dodged the swipes from his sword as he taunted Zack's efforts. "Is that all you have. Didn't you want to be a hero? Surely you haven't forgotten what I taught you in all this time. You're letting your emotions control you and dull your blade. You'll never reach me with that level of skill. And you'll never save Cloud."

"You're wrong. I did save Cloud. I sent myself here instead of him when you tried to attack us. So, he's alright. I just know it." Zack retorted.

They clashed swords again, as Zack hopped backwards in retreat to avoid a powerful slash from the Masamune, that sliced right through a boulder behind him. Zack lowered his sword and looked down in thought as he spoke. "I'm not sure what happened to you. You changed, and tried to hurt me. Tried to hurt Cloud. You were the hero I looked up to! I want you to change, hope you can change. But right now, Cloud is still waiting on me. So I have to defeat you here and now, whatever the cost!" Zack glared at Sephiroth as streams of dark aura formed around his body. He dashed off towards Sephiroth with a look in his tear-filled eyes that yelled anger.

Sephiroth smirked at the sight of this, taunting his opponent. "Yes, that's the look I want to see. Hate me. Let darkness come into your heart. It's the only way you can ever defeat me. After all, your darkness...is me."

Zack stopped abruptly in his tracks at what Sephiroth had just said. The darkened aura around him beginning to fade. Zack lowered his head in thought, trying to make sense of what Sephiroth had just said. Zack quickly raised his head say something, but as soon as he looked up, Sephiroth look transparent. Within a second the image of Sephiroth faded away into nothingness and Zack was soon staring at nothing but the dark landscape in front of him.

" _Was is all just an illusion? That...wasn't the real Sephiroth?"_ Zack shook his head, ' _Nah...Sephiroth can't really be here surely.' But even if it wasn't the real Sephiroth...what did he mean? My darkness is him? I don't understand… but, did feel something. Something strange came over me. The darkness here must be really messing with me now… Can't let that happen anymore.'_ Zack then began to laugh to himself half-heartedly as he pondered the thought as his mind drifted towards his friend. ' _Well, just wait for me a while longer Cloud. I'll be back soon.'_

Zack started to walk forward but his head started to hurt as he felt dizzy. Everything started to blur around him. His legs felt weak as he staggered forward. After a few steps he collapsed to his knees, exhausted mentally and physically from the recent battle. "Maybe...a quick rest wouldn't be so bad…" Zack muttered between deep breaths. He laid down where he was and drifted off into a slumber for the first time in what seemed like ages.

* * *

Zack found himself to be falling through darkness. He was falling and there didn't seem to be any sign of stopping. Through the darkness though blurs of images and sounds flew past him. It was hard to see or hear what it was though. Everything was just a blur and he could only hear bits and pieces of everything.

" _Zack!"_

" _Cloud get out of here! Run!"_

" _How amusing…"_

" _What have you done?"_

" _The darkness will make you stronger."_

" _Darkness is not the way!"_

" _Then perish."_

* * *

Zack woke up with a sudden jolt. He was breathing heavily as he looked around him, making sure there were no Heartless in the area. Zack pushed himself up into a sitting position. His body still ached, but he felt much better than before. As he sat there, he thought about what he had just dreamt. He ran a hand through his hair as he sighed. He thought back to that event; the event that had lead him to getting trapped in the Realm of Darkness. It felt so long ago, but he still had no idea how much time actually had passed. So much had happened since then. Countless battles with Heartless and wandering for what felt like days.

Zack then stretched his back as he let out a groan. He knew his back was going to be feeling sore for a while. "Wish I had a potion right now…" Zack muttered before finally decided to stand back up. He needed to continue on his way to finding a way out. He wasn't going to give up yet.

As Zack walked he thought back to the fight he just had with Sephiroth...or really the fake Sephiroth. ' _I can't believe I let the darkness here mess with my head. I know Sephiroth isn't actually here. It has to be because I've been here too long. I really gotta find a way out of here soon. But how…'_

Zack knew that wasn't the real Sephiroth that he had battled, but his self doubt had been swept away in the flurry of blade clashes from the battle. It was like a tremendous weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He felt a little more confident again as he turned around and began to wandering through the darkness again. He continued walking for a bit until suddenly he saw a young boy. A few feet in front of him there was a boy sitting on the ground, with his knees to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. Zack got a little be closer to try to see who it was. The boy looked about to be in his early teenage years and the closer Zack got he could hear that the boy was crying.

As soon as Zack stood right next to the boy, his eyes widened. There was no way he could forget that blond spiky hair. "Cloud?! Wha...why are you here? How are you here? I'm so glad to see you thought." Zack leaned forward to hug the Cloud, when the Cloud abruptly pushed him away.

"Leave me alone," Cloud muttered as he refused to look at Zack.

"What?" Zack asked in confusion. How long had it been since Cloud had seen him? Had something happened since he was thrown into the Realm of Darkness? "Is… something wrong?"

"Zack...why did you leave me all alone? I thought we were friends," Cloud said as he sniffed.

"What? What do you-" Zack started, but Cloud cut him off.

"I thought you cared about me. I didn't know what to do when you left. You weren't there for me when I needed help."

Dumbfounded by the words he had heard, Zack tried to reason with him. Zack then sat down next to Cloud, "I'm sorry buddy, I didn't want to get trapped here. But Sephiroth...he did something...something with the darkness and next thing I knew, here I was. But, I saved you from him. You ran away from him, so it's okay now." Zack said, hoping to reassure his friend. Though he still wondered how Cloud had ended up here.

Cloud finally looked up at Zack, his eyes red and his face stained with tears, "You saved me!? I may have run away as you fought Sephiroth, but what about after that?! What happened to me after you were trapped here?"

Zack gasped in surprise. He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't find the words. He lowered his head as his heart ached. He didn't want to believe what Cloud was saying, but he knew he was right. Ever since ending up in the Realm of Darkness Zack kept hoping that Cloud was safe. That he had ran away and was safe from Sephiroth. But deep down inside Zack secretly kept worrying what had happened afterwards. What had Sephiroth done after their battle? Where did Cloud go? There were far too many questions that were left unanswered for Zack.

"You failed…" Cloud muttered in a cold voice. "You failed to protect me."

Zack turned to look at Cloud, shaking his head, "No...no… I did protect you. I know I did."

Cloud glared at Zack, though his eyes were still full of hurt and sadness, "Then why am I here? It's all your fault that I am here. I feel so alone because you're not with me. I thought I was your friend..."

"I'm here now Cloud, so it's alright. I don't know how you got here, but we'll get out of this together. We'll stick together, like we always have." Zack said as he tried to place a hand on Cloud's shoulder.

Cloud angrly swatted Zack's hand away, "No! You left me. You failed! I've been through so much because of you. I hate you!"

Zack felt his heart sting from those words. Those hurtful words from his best friend. The doubt and thoughts that had really hadn't saved Cloud resurfaced in his head. He lowered his head in thought. All of the self doubt, the fear, and the anger at himself, began to slowly creep in again. He wanted to believe that Cloud was actually safe, that he had protected Cloud, but now he didn't believe that anymore. Zack knew though that he had to help Cloud no matter what he had said. Even if he failed to protect Cloud the first time, he wouldn't fail this time. He reached out his hand and looked up, only to see a fading light where Cloud was sitting.

Zack still reached out, but there was nothing for him to grab onto. There was just darkness which meant he was alone again. ' _Was he just another illusion? Does that mean that wasn't really Cloud?"_ Zack thought to himself. " _It wasn't real but, I felt those words. Those words felt real enough. They were from the heart. I...can't believe what I've done. Cloud must hate me… It really is all my fault.'  
_  
A few tears streamed down Zack's face as he thought about what could have happened to Cloud. Zack placed his face into his hands and cried. He hated himself so much right now. Everything just felt awful. Several minutes passed as Zack worried and agonized over the possible fate of his friend, but he was finally able to calm himself down. Now that he had settled his emotions down, he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, knowing now what he had to do.

' _I have to get out of here. I need to so I can make sure Cloud is alright. I need to know that he is safe. I have to make things right. Sephiroth will pay for what he has done to us. I can't let the darkness win,'_ Zack thought to himself as he stood up and started back on the path he was on. Now determined more than ever to find a way out of the Realm of Darkness. He had to, for Cloud's sake and his own.

* * *

And that is the end of Chapter 2. I hope you all enjoyed it thoroughly. We are currently working on Chapter 3 and some other material for the story, but we will have it up asap. Don't forget to follow the story if you want to know as soon as the next chapter drops. Also, your feedback is appreciated. :) Until next time!


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! Welcome back to the story, co-authored by my good friend **Riku Kingdom Hearts.** Sorry it's been so long. Life has been hectic and other ideas have made their presence known. Also, writer's block and procrastination are very real things. Haha. But...we are here now, finally with this chapter finished. The story is starting to pick up now. So, let's get to it then. Hope you all enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 3

As Zack continued to wander, he noticed something out of the ordinary. There was swarm of Heartless, a lot of Neo Shadows and even some Invisibles. They appear to be conglomerating around something...or someone. Zack moved in a little closer as they didn't notice his presence yet. He tried to peer through some gaps in the group, when suddenly he caught a glimpse of a small arm with white sleeves that appeared to be gripping something in hand..Zack immediately stopped and thought to himself before continuing.

" _I had no idea other people would be here. They must be like me, getting trapped here. I need to help them though before the heartless...wait! Is that...blue hair? There's only one person I know like that. I've gotta move now!"_

Zack rushed towards the heartless brandishing his battered sword as he yelled. "Hey Heartless! Why don't you come have a piece of me! What are you waiting for? Give me a challenge here." Zack grins his usual grin, his adrenaline kicking in with the anticipation of a coming battle.

Zack let the Heartless come a little closer to him before engaging them. He made a wide sweeping motion towards most of the Neo Shadows, slicing them horizontally as they staggered, injured. He then proceeded finish them all off with ease as he stabbed each one of them where their heart would have been. All that was left now was the two Invisibles. " _Nothing I can't handle,"_ Zack thought to himself. He placed his sword in front of him, holding it with both hands as he closed his eyes in a moment of meditation. He sprinted forward at full speed, quickly avoided one of them swiping down at him. He slid behind it and sliced it in two from behind. He turned around and ran the other one through with his sword as they both began to dissolve.

"Well that was easier than I thought. I guess I'm getting good at this. Now let's...Argh!"

Zack fell face down as he felt his back throbbing from what felt like a large hit. He crawled until he was on his knees. He planted his sword into the ground, using for support to raise himself back up. He turned around to see what was there, and he saw the biggest thing he had ever witnessed in his life. His eyes widened in a look of shock.

"Wha...what is that?! It's a Heartless, but I've never seen one before. It's so tall!"

It was several feet away, but it looked to be about 3 stories tall, with what appeared to be waves of black hair. It was solid black, with some hints of purple on parts of the body. The eyes were a bright yellow, almost glowing, but the face was like that of a statue. No emotion could be seen on the giant creature's face. There was also a heart-shaped hole in the middle of its chest. A Darkside Heartless.

Zack struggled to get back to his feet as he prepared to take on this threat. But, he was more tired than he expected to be after only taking down a few Heartless. He disparaged at the notion of a fight for once. "Darn, I guess I haven't recovered from the battle with Sephiroth yet. This is going to be rough." As Zack prepared his sword for battle once more, he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

"Who are you and what are you doing in this place? How did you get here?"

Zack turned around to face the all-too familiar voice. As he spun around, he saw a black corset with purple straps diagalonaly ran across the front. The arms were bound in white sleeves, with a familiar-looking keyblade at the end of the right arm. His eyes worked their way up the person until they fixated on the face. The young face was that of a woman he had seen before, with eyes as blue as the hair on her head. His heart fluttered with excitement as he stumbled over his words.

"A...Aqua?! It's been so long. It's...good to see you. But, what are you doing here?

"Wait, do I know you? I feel like we've met somewhere before…" Aqua trailed off as she examined the stranger's face. She looked him over. His eyes were a very deep blue, and the grin on his face was reminiscent of a younger man she had met before. The black hair he had slicked back was long, and unruly. She glanced to the side to notice the sword in his hand when she suddenly had an epiphany.

"Zack! Is that really you? I...I almost didn't recognize you at first. But, what are you doing _here_? This is the Realm of Darkness." The ground beneath them shook. They looked up to see the large Heartless was getting closer. "We can catch up later. First we have to defeat that Heartless. But let's get you healed so you can actually fight," Aqua stated as she waved her Rainfell keyblade above her head and pointed it towards Zack. "Curaga!"

A bright, white light formed around Zack's frame as he felt the pain fade from his muscles and the scars on his body began to slightly heal. Suddenly, he felt full of energy again for the first time in what seemed like an eternity.

"Wow, thanks Aqua!", he exclaimed as he looked over his arms held out in front of him. "I haven't felt this alive in ages. You're like a ray of hope in this pit of darkness." Zack grinned at her with a most sincere look, before he sheathed his sword and proceeded to do his usual squats in preparation for the looming battle.

"Well...I, uh...thanks Zack," Aqua stammered as she looked away with a flushed face.

Zack finished with his exercise as he grabbed his sword back and rotated the hilt casually in his hand. "Okay." Zack said this with such a serious tone that Aqua looked back over to see a determined look in his eyes. It was a look that reminded her of one of her dearest friends.

Aqua became lost in her thoughts. " _Oh Terra. I bet would be proud of him if you could see him now. But I still wonder how he ended up here…"_

"Aqua. I'll take point and do most of the attacking. You stay behind me as backup with your magic. It will definitely come in handy. Don't worry, I've got this. I'll show you my power." Zack gave her a wink as he finished his sentence and began to move forward.

"Fine, I'll support you." Aqua walked up beside Zack's left side. "But, I will not stay behind you. I'm more than capable of handling myself. We do this together, okay?"

Zack gave his ever-so-confident smile before speaking. "Right! Let's do this!"

Without another word, Zack sprinted forward towards the towering Darkside in front of him. As he inched closer, the enemy raised its giant left hand and began to move it downward in an attempt to slam the black-haired attacker. Zack briefly stopped as he bent his knees, looking up at the Darkside. Without a second of hesitation he leaped into the air right as the giant's hand crashed to the ground. He landed on the arm of the Darkside and proceeded to sprint up the arm towards the face. The Darkside raised its right arm in an attempt to swat Zack off of the other arm. Zack stopped and prepared to face the oncoming hand, but before the hand could strike, Aqua's voice was heard from down below.

"Glacier!" Aqua shouted the spell as her keyblade was directed right at the Darkside's right arm. The entire arm came to a halt as it slowly froze over. "Now Zack!"

Zack started back running up the arm, and as he got to the shoulders, he grabbed onto his sword with both hands and plunged it deep into the neck of the giant. It screeched, creating a sound that indicated that it was in pain. Zack then yanked the sword out from the now gaping wound on its neck, with blackness escaping from the injury.

Zack peered closer, examining the darkness seeping out. " _It's almost like darkness is leaving the body."_

Aqua then rushed forward as the Darkside was momentarily stunned. Raising her keyblade and moving it in a circular motion, she casted Glacier again on the Darkside. Except this time, she targeted its legs. A white light swirled around the tip of the blade before heading towards the long-black legs. The legs began to freeze, starting at the feet and working its way up to the waist area. Aqua then moved closer to cast another spell.

"Triple Thundaga!" Her shout echoed as the keyblade swirled with energy before letting out barrage of thunderbolts at the leg. The impact of the the orbs of thunder start to crack the ice. Without hesitation Aqua went and casted the spell twice more at the Heartless. The ice shattered, destroying the leg along with it. The Darkside fell down to its remaining knee with a crash that shook the ground around it, nearly toppling Zack off its shoulders.

"Nice one Aqua!", shouted Zack from atop the giant's shoulders.

Aqua bent down and made a leap into the air, then using her magic, made another jump on the air and landed on the frozen right arm of the Heartless. It watched helplessly as she made her way quickly up the arm, carefully planting her feet as not to slip on the ice. Now at the other side of the shoulder, she called out to Zack.

"Okay, let's put an end to this now Zack!

"Right! Here goes."

Zack started to raise his sword to deliver a blow, but before he could, he saw Aqua out of corner of his eye. The aura around her was glowing, like she was gathering energy. He stopped in admiration and curiosity to see what would happen. She raised her keyblade into the air when suddenly, several orbs of light appeared in the sky around the Darkside. Without warning, Aqua then vanished. Looking around, Zack finally found her just above an orb she had summoned, and with a motion of her keyblade, it barreled down upon the Darkside. The impact was massive, forcing Zack to jump down from the Darkside to avoid the collateral damage. She then proceeded to teleport to each pillar of light and rained down each of them on the Darkside. The damage caused the surrounding area to be filled with dust and debris, making it difficult to see what had happened. When the smoke cleared, the Darkside was gone, completely destroyed by the attack. Zack just stared in amazement as Aqua floated back down to the ground.

"Well, I normally would say you couldn't have done that without me...but, it's obvious you had this under control," Zack jokingly said as he scratched the back of his head.

"I've been fighting the Heartless for a long time, so I'm used to having to fend for myself." She just stared into the dark sky as she finished her statement, reflecting on her time there. She stood there for what seemed like ages until she her a faint sound from behind her, almost like her name was being called.

"Aqua….Aqua…...Hey Aqua!"

Snapping out of her trance, she turned around swiftly to see Zack standing there, a concerned look crossing his face. Oh of course, Zack is here as well. Suddenly, she remembered what she wanted to say to the boy… or really the young man.

"Sorry, Zack. I was lost in thought. However, back to the matter at hand. What are you doing here? Last I saw you was at Olympus Coliseum and you were training to be a hero. What happened to you that you ended up here?

"I could ask the same of you. Last I remember, you, Terra, and Ventus were going back to your world to take care of some things. After you declined my offer of a date that is." Zack laughed casually as he remembered those times. Whatever happened to to those times. He glanced back at Aqua to see her with her head down, almost as if concerned and deep in thought. "Sorry, I hope I didn't say anything off-putting."

Looking back up at him, she replied. "No, no, it's nothing like that. Don't worry about it."

Except, it was something to worry about. Zack's comment made her remember Terra and Ven. She thought back to how she missed her friends and wanted to see them again. But Zack was also their friend. How was she going to break it to him that Terra and Ven were lost and she didn't even know where they were, or if they were okay. Maybe she just wouldn't tell him. So that he would not worry. After all, she didn't know what he has been through to get here. As she was lost in thought again, she suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around her. Aqua instinctively tensed up...but the arms...they felt...warm, and comforting. With in seconds Aqua felt the tension leave her body. The voice to which the arms belonged finally began to speak again.

"Aqua, listen...it seems like we've both been here a while. You're...the first real person I've seen in what seems like years. I'm not sure why you're here too, but why don't we catch up. It's not like we'll be running out of time or anything."

She was surprised. Was this really the same Zack? He definitely wasn't the boy she knew before. He was still joyous at times, but there was an air of seriousness about him. Aqua could also tell there was a feeling of pain and loss coming from him at the same time. In some ways, he seemed a lot like Terra. She smiled at the thought, knowing Terra would be proud of Zack. Aqua was relieved for once, she hadn't felt this at ease in a long while.

"Sure. That sounds like a good idea. We should stick together anyways. We'll find somewhere to go and I can tell you everything…" Aqua trailed off as the world blurred around her and she collapsed into Zack's arms.

Zack caught her in his arms. "Aqua? Aqua?!" Zack exclaimed with a worried look on his face. Finally, he noticed she was still breathing. "Oh...You were just tired, weren't you? Don't worry, I'll make sure you're safe. Just trust in your buddy Zack!"

He sheathed his sword, and picked her up in his arms. She was a bit heavier than he anticipated. Though, he didn't know if he was still tired, or if it was her. He decided it was best not to mention it to her as he chuckled. He walked off into the darkness to find a place to rest.

* * *

" _Terra?"_

" _Terra's heart has been extinguished-smothered by the darkness within him."_

" _My name is Master Aqua."_

" _Stop fighting back!"_

" _Terra, I know you're in there!"_

" _The Darkness can't have you!"_

* * *

Aqua awoke swiftly, on high alert already, with keyblade in hand. She looked over to see Zack mildly stunned at the appearance of her keyblade being by his neck. She put it away quickly after realizing this and proceeded to stand up, wondering where they were.

"Sorry about that. I'm just used to being alone here. Where are we now? This doesn't look like the same place we were at. I must have fallen asleep...I'm sorry about that"

"You did, but it's alright. I carried you all the way here and watched over you as you slept, making sure no Heartless would get near us. Don't worry, I've got your back." Zack said with enthusiasm.

Blushing at the thought, she turned her head slightly so Zack couldn't see. "You...you didn't have to do that. But...I do appreciate it. At least I know I have someone to turn to now."

"I'm glad you feel the same way. So, about this place...why are you here, in this, Realm of Darkness? Will you tell me? I still don't quite understand this place completely myself."

Aqua breathed a heavy sigh as she began to speak. "I did say I would tell you. Let's begin."

Aqua closed her eyes as she thought over everything. At first she didn't want to explain everything to Zack. She especially didn't want to have him worry over what happened to Terra and Ventus. But she did promise him that she would tell him her story. With another deep breath she opened her eyes and began to tell Zack everything. Everything that happened since last she saw him and the events that led up to her ending up here.

Once Aqua was finished with her story, Zack was taken aback. He was surprised having heard of all of the troubles that his friends have gone through.

"Aqua...I am so sorry to hear that happened to you," Zack said as he placed a hand on Aqua's shoulder.

"It's alright. I know once I find a way out of here though I am going to find them and make sure that they are alright," Aqua said as she faced Zack. "What about you though? What events caused you to also end up in this darken realm?"

Zack leaned back, placing his hands behind him. He looked up at the darkness filled sky and sighed. "Well it all really started not to long after I last saw you in Olympus Coliseum…"

* * *

And that is it for Chapter 3! I hope the story was enjoyable for you all so far. We have the next few chapters planned out. Now, it's just the point of writing them. We will have them all done as soon as we can. Don't forget to follow the story for updates, and drop a review if you liked it. Feedback is appreciated! Until next time! :)


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys! Welcome back to the story, co-authored by my good friend **Riku Kingdom Hearts.** We finally have this chapter finished! There's been many things happening with life. And this was going to be a shorter chapter, but we had so many ideas and just couldn't stop writing, so here we are. Lol But anyways, let's stop the rambling and get to the story. I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

10 Years prior…

Zack stood at the gate to the entrance of Olympus Coliseum, gazing into the sun-stained sky. He thought of the past few days he had spent with Aqua, Terra, and Ventus. " _Those guys...I can't wait to see them again. Aqua still owes me a date."_ He chuckled at the thought. " _But they were all so strong. Especially Terra. I hope one day I can be a hero like him. Though, he kinda reminds me of him…"_ Zack's words trailed off. He heard something as he looked behind him.

In a flash, the spot where Zack had just stood was empty, replaced by a single black feather.

Zack felt there were some hands around him. He struggled, not knowing who had grabbed hold of him. He peered his head upward, noticing a familiar face. That long white hair, those sky blue eyes, and that snarky grin were unmistakable.

"Sephiroth?!" He questioned abruptly. "What...what are you doing here? Where are we going?"

Sephiroth looked down at Zack. "I've come to take you back to Radiant Gardens."

"Ah, but why. I was just getting the hang of things here. Trying to become a hero on my own." Zack sighed as he complained to the silvery-haired man.

"Oh? Well, what do you have to show for it? You seem no different from when I sent you here. I thought too highly of you. You obviously need more training…" Sephiroth looked forward as he smirked. "...Especially, if you still want to become like me."

Zack went to speak, but Sephiroth motioned him to be quiet. Suddenly, Sephiroth took off at great speed. Zack, surprised by this, almost felt like he was about to fall. The wind whipped against his face harshly, making him close his eyes. Soon, before he realized it, they had somehow returned back to Radiant Garden.

When they arrived, Sephiroth floated down easily to the surface. Zack looked around, head fluttering in many directions before Sephiroth dropped him to the ground. He brushed it off, getting up to look around some more. It had been quite some time since he had seen this place.

"It hasn't changed that much in one year, much like yourself." Sephiroth said from behind Zack.

"That's not true! I've changed some. I fought quite a lot in the coliseum trying to get better. I even met some new friends who were pretty strong. Terra… Aqua… Ven…" Zack trailed off as he remembered the good times he spent with them again. Though the time was little, the memories he had made still shined vibrently in his mind.

"Oh? Friends huh?" Sephiroth curiously questioned with a monotonous response.

Zack's face lit up. "Yea, they were great! Ven and I got along well. We were a lot alike. And Aqua...she was a beauty. I fell for her after we fought in our match. She was quite the force. I needed to become strong, because once I become a hero, she owes me a date. I even fought Terra. He was one of the strongest people I've ever met. Maybe as strong as you. He fought me off like I was nothing. But…" Zack bit his lip remembering what happened. "But...I became frustrated at my weakness, and Hades...he, took advantage of that. I let Darkness in…"

"Darkness? Hmm...what happened to you then? Go on," Sephiroth said, pushing for Zack to continue.

"Well, I blacked out so I don't remember. But, apparently, I proceeded to fight Terra and almost beat him. But, a victory like that would have been pointless. But Terra was better...he didn't use the darkness, not once. And he helped me overcome it...That's why I wanted to stay longer. To become a hero like yourself and Terra... Plus I wanted to impress Aqua with how strong I was." Zack ended cheerfully at the thought of the keyblade master.

"So...you say this Terra is as strong as I am. And you almost beat him by using this...Darkness. Hmm...I would say that is rather...intriguing. To think it could make someone like you so strong." Sephiroth remarked with a snarky grin on his face. "What did you do to get this...darkness?"

Zack replied hesitantly, "Well, it just kind of found me...when my heart was clouded with self doubt. It's like I let it in unconsciously."

"That is intriguing...and it made you that strong. Pity you couldn't have controlled that power. You may have been able to match me then. But it does seem as though you have gotten somewhat stronger."

Zack gave his toothy grin at Sephiroth for finally acknowledging him, even if it was just a little bit. Suddenly, from behind him, Zack heard a familiar voice.

"Zack! Zack!"

Zack turned on the spot to see a spiky, blond-haired, young boy running towards him. It was his dear friend and also adopted brother; Cloud. His face was glowing with joy, his bright blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight. He approached Zack and embraced him in a hug, welcoming back his friend. Cloud was twelve years old, only six years younger than Zack, but he was growing like a twig. Cloud then looked up and started to talk.

"I've missed you big bro. Now can you finally tell me where you went off to?"

Zack chuckled. "I was off training to become a stronger hero. But now your buddy Zack is back and ready for action here."

"Oh does that mean you're stronger now? Well, I've gotten stronger too. Just wait. I'll show you. So when can we train together again?"

From across the way, Zack heard Sephiroth's voice call out. "Zack, look sharp."

He turned in time to see this huge broadsword coming at him. He panicked for a second, before straightening up and grabbing the sword at the hilt as it came to him. He was amazed. For how large the sword was, it felt...light. He swung the sword around a few times to test it. It was almost like nothing to wield it. Sephiroth began to stride back over towards the pair of friends.

Sephiroth confidently stated. "It seems I was not mistaken. You can wield that Buster Sword. It once belonged to an old friend of mine. But I want you to try it. You've obviously gotten stronger, being able to handle that sword so well upon first receiving it. It has much power held within."

Zack grinned cheekily at Sephiroth before replying. "Wait, Sephiroth… You had friends?"

"Very amusing Zack...now, prepare yourself. I'm going to see just how strong you've gotten."

Cloud scoffed at Sephiroth, still not fully trusting the man. But, he was in awe of the sword that Zack currently held within his hands. "That's so cool. Maybe I can use that one day."

Zack turned back to Cloud. "Sure. But go get behind the wall over there. Looks like your buddy Zack has some training to do. We'll do some later, okay?"

Cloud looked a bit disheartened, but he did as he was told and went behind the wall. As soon as he was there, he saw a brilliant flash of light as the two swords clashed.

The two of them seemed to be evenly matched at first, but Zack knew that Sephiroth was holding back. He looked frustrated as they clashed a few more times before speaking up.

"Hey Sephiroth, don't hold back on me. I can take it! I'm stronger now you know."

As their swords were locked in place, Sephiroth smiled curtly as his sword bore down harder.

"It seems you have gotten stronger. Fine. Prepare yourself. I'll show no mercy."

Zack grinned at finally being able to test his metal against Sephiroth fully, especially with this new sword. He could tell it held a lot of power. He started to grow accustomed to the weight and handle. He and Sephiroth backed away once more, and readied to fight again.

"Alright Sephiroth, I'll show you my power. Here I come!" he exclaimed as he rushed forward.

* * *

After much fighting, Zack fell to a knee as Sephiroth's sword was inches from his neck. Zack realized that he was beaten, and that it would be useless to try and fight anymore. He had lost. He lowered his arms and sword in deferrence, signaling that he accepted defeat. Sephiroth removed his sword from in front of Zack and looked down upon the spiky haired hero-to-be with a grin.

"You have indeed gotten stronger Zack. Before, you were unable to wield that sword, but you used it like you had known it all of your life. I have to say I'm impressed. However...it's not enough. You still have a long way to go before you can think to match me."

Cloud started to run towards the fallen Zack. "Zack! Are you alright?!" As he approached the young man, Zack put his arm in front of him, signaling he wanted to support himself. Cloud looked over at Sephiroth and just glared.

Zack raised his head to look at his mentor. Raising his arm, he planted the buster sword into the ground, using it for leverage at an attempt to get up. He struggled to get to his feet, his knees wobbling from the strain placed on his body from the fight. His breath was heavy as he panted repeatedly. Finally getting to his feet, he leaned on the sword for support as he tried to speak through gasped breaths.

"You are...pretty strong still. I thought...I might fair better. Especially with...this sword. This reminds me of my fight...with Terra. That overwhelming strength. I thought that you two were fairly equal...but, I think you might still be quite a bit stronger. Hehe," Zack laughed as he looked into the sunset sky. "It seems I have a ways to go before becoming a hero."

Sephiroth extended his hand towards Zack. "Of course I'm the stronger one. However, you were under the influence of darkness, so I wouldn't be surprised if you misremembered. But still...the fact it gave the normal you that much strength...is intriguing." Sephiroth grew quieter as he spoke under his breath. "I wonder if it could actually be controlled properly…"

"Huh, sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What did you say Sephiroth?" Zack questioned.

"Oh, I was saying how you do have a ways to go to control your power and become stronger."

Cloud looked at Sephiroth with suspicion, as Zack tried to wave him off. Sephiroth stared hard at the blonde haired boy, almost as if he was looking directly into his soul. Cloud hid behind Zack, surprising the new buster sword wielder.

Zack looked back at Sephiroth. "Hey don't scare Cloud too much. He still has...a lot of trust issues." He said as he patted Cloud on the shoulder.

Sephiroth smiled at him. "Hmpf. Don't worry...He's just easy to tease. Now...that buster sword look suits you very well. Just keep the sword Zack. Train with it some more. I'll be waiting here for you tomorrow evening. Get some rest. You'll need it."

Zack nodded as he sat back down on the ground and took in several deep breaths. He was far more worn out than he had thought. Meanwhile Sephiroth had turned to walk away, but as he did, he heard a clanking sound from behind him, followed by the sound of a small, but serious voice.

"Hey! Sephiroth! Why don't you...fight me. It's for what you did to Zack." Cloud yelled with enthusiasm as he struggled to hold the large buster sword in his hands.

Sephiroth smiled curtly and replied. "Come now Cloud...you don't seriously think you would be a match for me. But…" Upon further inspection, he saw the seriousness in Cloud's eyes, an indication that the boy would not yield. "Fine. I'll entertain this idea of yours for a bit. Come."

Cloud yelled as he ran at Sephiroth. Having grabbed the sword with both hands and holding it down, he swung the sword sideways. He missed. Sephiroth easily dodged the potential strike as the sword crashed down. Cloud already looked tired from having to swing the large sword.

"Come on, surely you have more than that in you boy," Sephiroth said, antagonizing Cloud.

Cloud turned around, again holding the sword down, and began to run with it. He approached Sephiroth again, but missed when he swung. He slashed left and right with the sword seven more times, each time taking a break between swings. Each time he missed. Cloud looked exhausted as he bent over the sword to catch his breath.

"Hey Cloud, just stop it. You don't have anything to prove here. Let's just go get some rest," Zack called out to him in an attempt to stop him.

Sephiroth echoed in agreeance. "Listen to him Cloud. It's meaningless to do this now."

Cloud raised back up, seeming to have caught a second wind. "No, I want to prove my own strength to you. I can become a hero too!"

He picked the sword up, having it a bit higher now. He once again rushed to Sephiroth, this time swinging the sword down. However, Sephiroth moved out of the way just barely in time, as the strike seemed to have more power. Cloud continued this method, each time his strikes getting faster and harder as he began to learn how to control the buster sword.

Sephiroth seemed to have a look of intrigue on his face, probably wondering about how Cloud has done all of this. But, as he was distracted in his own head, one of Cloud's swings grazed his coat slightly. Noticing this, Sephiroth's face changed to a more serious look, while cocking a sly grin.

"Ha! I got you! I knew I cou-". Cloud's excitement was cut short as Sephiroth had disappeared from in front of him. He began to look around for him, but was hit from behind with the hilt of Sephiroth's Masamune. He teleported so quickly Zack almost couldn't keep up. Cloud fell face first to the ground as he was knocked out cold.

Zack, having recovered slightly from the battle, stood back up and was able walk now. He strided slowly over to Cloud and knelt beside him.

"It seems you practiced while I was away. You've gotten better Cloud. I'm proud." He turned his attention to Sephiroth. "I know you could have been more rough with him, but thanks for letting him have some fun. Though, you did let your guard down for a moment and he almost got you. Haha."

"Hmpf. Believe what you will. Now, take him, and you both go and recover. We'll train more tomorrow Zack. I'll be waiting." Sephiroth finished his sentence as he flew off into the orange sky.

Zack wondered where he might be going, but he was too tired to care. He picked up Cloud, carrying him over his shoulder, as he carried his new buster sword in the other hand. He headed to their home to recover for the night with some rest.

On the way back he heard some murmurs coming from Cloud. He sounded only half awake now.

"Cloud? You doing alright?

"Mhm…Yes." Cloud murmured.

"Do you think you can walk on your own now?"

"Yeah I think so," Cloud said before Zack placed him back onto the ground.

The two began to continue their walk back to their home. Then a moment later Cloud spoke up again. "Hey...Zack?"

"Yeah Cloud?"

"Did… Did I do a good job back there?"

"Of course you did little bro. You were really brave and strong. I'm proud of you. You are going to be a great hero one day," Zack said with a smile as he patted Cloud's head.

"Thanks Zack," Cloud said, smiling back.

"But we probably shouldn't tell mom what you did. She would probably freak out," Zack chuckled.

"Yeah alright," Cloud said with a nod. "Also...Zack?"

"Something else on your mind?"

Cloud stopped walking as he looked down at the ground, "I… I was really worried that you...weren't coming back."

Zack turned around and faced Cloud. Kneeling down to be closer to Cloud's eye level. "Hey...I made you a promise remember? That I would come back. Remember that?"

Cloud slowly nodded, "Yeah...but it felt like so long…and..."

Before Cloud could say anything more Zack wrapped his arms around him in a embrace. "I'm sorry that I made you worry like that. But I'm back now. And I am even closer to being a hero now!"

"You aren't a hero yet though," Cloud laughed as he hugged Zack back, "Which means I could beat you there!"

"Oh yeah? Well we will see about that," Zack said pulling back from the hug and ruffled Cloud's hair.

Zack and Cloud then started back on their way home. They soon arrived at their home, and after a reunion with their parents, they two headed off their bedrooms. Once Zack was in his room, he collapsed down onto his bed, exhausted from battle. He pondered for a brief moment. " _Man, that was rough. Sephiroth sure doesn't take it easy. Everyday of this is gonna be tiresome. But, whatever it takes to become a hero I guess. I am kind of glad to be back home…"_ His thoughts faded as did he into a deep sleep.

* * *

The next day…

Zack awoke from his deep sleep, his body still sore from the rough training with Sephiroth. He thought of what the day had in store for him as he roused out of bed. He uttered a slight nervous chuckle as he wondered just how badly he would be beaten today. " _I've gotta get better,"_ he thought as he proceeded to do his ritualistic squats. " _I want to become just as strong as Sephiroth...and Terra. I am glad to be back home, but man I sure do miss those guys. When I become a hero, I'll go back and show them just how far I've come! I've gotta get that date from Aqua too. I have to do this!"_ Zack was suddenly brimming with motivation to train more to get what he needed.

He finished his exercises, but now he was even more sore than before. " _I need to go find some potion or someone to heal me. Otherwise, today won't be so good."_ Zack grabbed his buster sword and started to house out. As he went to walk out, he remembered needing to check on Cloud. He peeked inside of his door and noticed he was still fast asleep. He decided to not bother him as he ventured out to find a way to feel better.

He walked over the town until he found Aerith, the local healer in the town. She was only twelve years old, but she was wise beyond her years, especially in the art of healing magic. "Hi Aerith. How's it going today? Uh, would you mind maybe patching me up? Haha."

Aerith turned around to face him. "Oh, hey Zack! You're finally back I see. And of course, just sit down and I'll heal you right away. What happened though?."

Zack slumped down on the ground as she proceeded to cast her healing magic on him.

"Well, Sephiroth brought me back, and he wanted to see how strong I got. And...I told him to not hold back, so yea, I lost. But we're training again today, so I'll do my best!" Zack explained in a cheerful tone.

Aerith looked up. "You should have known better…" she trailed off. "Alright I'm all done now. You should be good to go. Just try to not work yourself too hard okay?"

"Ah wow, thanks Aerith. You're the best when it comes to this kind of thing. I'm just glad you were actually in town today." Zack said as he jumped to his feet, excited to be back at full strength. He then started to do his squats briefly again, as he looked forward to the training today. "Alright, I have to get going for training. See ya!"

Zack turned and hurried off as Aerith waved him goodbye. He sprinted towards the area where they trained before, but then he remembered Cloud. He stopped back by the house to check on him. As he got to the door, it swung open and he was hit in the stomach with a blond head. Cloud then looked up at Zack with wide eyes.

"Zack! There you are. I was wondering where you went. I thought you had left to go train without me..."

Zack patted Cloud's head. "Of course not. You're coming too. I want you to pay attention to our fights so you can get better. Besides, I am still working on becoming a hero, so this training is needed."

"Alright, Zack. So are we headed there now?"

"Yea, come on. I'm sure Sephiroth is already waiting on me. I hope I'm ready for this."

Zack and Cloud scurried off to the predetermined meeting of the next training session. When he arrived, sure enough, Sephiroth was waiting for them, leaned up against the wall. Without even opening his eyes or turning towards them, Sephiroth spoke to them.

"You're late Zack. You can't be a hero if you're not a time. Now, let's get started."

Sephiroth opened his eyes as he raised his Masamune sword, before he casually walked toward Zack. Zack held his buster sword in both hands, raising it in preparation for a coming strike. He then turned toward Cloud for a moment.

"Cloud, I want you to do like you did yesterday. Don't worry, we will have time to train later."

Cloud gave a huff, but did what Zack said and went and stood behind the wall as he watched.

"Alright Sephiroth, I'm ready whenever you are. Just come at m- woah!" Zack suddenly exclaimed as Sephiroth swung down his sword before he could finish his sentence.

"No time for talk Zack. Prove to me that you're ready and get your head out of the clouds."

Zack focused his attention on his mentor in front of him as they started to clash swords once again. Over and over, bright sparks flew around the area as they fought each other for a while.

Eventually the training session was finally over, albeit a little bit sooner than expected. Zack huffed, trying to catch his breath from the intense battle he just had with Sephiroth.

"Is...is that it? I thought the training would be a bit longer today. Come on, I can still fight." Zack said as he straightened up, regaining his composure.

Sephiroth held up his sword to Zack's chest. "No. We are done for the day. We can continue more tomorrow. I have...some business to attend to. You're on your own now."

Sephiroth turned around, let out his long black wing, and took off into the sky. Zack stared off after him as he heard footsteps from behind him. He turned to face Cloud, who looked concerned.

"Hey Cloud, what is it?

"Sephiroth took off again. He won't tell you why...I still really don't trust him."

"Yea, I know you don't. But just trust me buddy, Sephiroth is a good man. And he's a hero. I trust him completely, so you should too." Zack said to Cloud as he turned back around.

He again stared off into the distance to where Sephiroth had flown to, sinking into thought.

" _I really do wonder though...where is he going all of a sudden? It's not like him to just take off without giving a reason. I never remembered him doing such a thing until I was back. Could it have been something I said? About darkness perhaps? Nahh...Sephiroth isn't that kind of a person. I'm sure whatever it is, things will work out."_

Zack looked over at Cloud, who was now standing by his side. Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Hey Cloud...You wanna train with your big bro Zack?"

Cloud's face lit up. "Of course I do! Yes, I'm ready. I finally wanna show you how strong I am. I know I can do it!"

"Alright alright. Well, go and grab your sword and we'll start."

Cloud rushed off, but was back very quickly, eager to get started with the training.

"Alright, you ready Cloud?" Zack said as he readied the buster sword.

"Yes, of course!" Cloud exclaimed as he placed his sword in front of him, ready to attack.

"Okay then, let's see how much you've grown little bro."

Their swords collided with each other, creating brilliant sparks in the background of the sun-filled sky. They continued to train on into the sunset, but Sephiroth had not returned yet. After finishing their rounds, the both of them were exhausted, and decided to get some rest.

The next day, Sephiroth had finally returned, but he would not answer any questions about where he had gone, and even told them to never ask about it. This odd behavior continued off and on over the course of the year. But Zack paid less attention to it over that year, as he was enjoying the time of training with Sephiroth and also Cloud. All of them training together to become stronger.

* * *

That wraps up the very long chapter 4! This is indeed a flashback chapter, and the next one will cover some more...serious things that happen, so it will get a bit spicy. And, if you were wondering, yes we went with the headcannon of Cloud being an adopted little brother for this story, though we only just came up with it. Lol But it works in with the characters, even in previous chapters. Just some FYI. We have the next chapters planned and will write them soon. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed reading this story so far. Just follow the story if you want updates, and if you liked it, let us know. Until next time!


	5. Chapter 5

Hello again, and welcome back to this story, co-authored by my good friend **Riku Kingdom** **Hearts,** who wrote almost all of this. And it turned out nicely. (I did manage to do the fight scene though. Hehe)We were able to hammer out this last part of the flashback as we had a surge of ideas. And many late night ramblings. Hope you guys are ready for this next installment, so let's get to it!

* * *

Zack awoke to a large crashing sound coming from outside somewhere. Zack jumped up from his bed, still a little hazy being awoken from his nap. He ran to the window and looked outside. The sky was darkened and it gave off an eerie feeling, one that sent shivers up Zack's spine.

Zack ran outside and to his surprise, he saw strange darkness based creatures roaming around the area. Zack backed up back a little, "What...are these things?"

Some of the little creatures seemed to have heard Zack as they turned their attention onto him and began to crawl towards him. Instinctively, Zack ran and grabbed his buster sword and held it out in front of him in a defensive position. He immediately swung his buster sword out at the oncoming creatures and sliced them in half. They withered for a moment before dissipating into darkness.

Zack took in several deep breaths, thinking over what had just happened. Then suddenly something clicked in his mind. " _Cloud! Where is he?!"_ Zack tried to think back when he had last seen or heard from Cloud. " _I think… he was going out for a walk or something. I gotta find him!"_ Before Zack left, he also went to grab his old sword, which he slipped onto the holder on his back. He figured if these creatures were running around everywhere, Cloud would need something to protect himself.

Zack took off running, looking every possible way, hoping he would find Cloud. He had to make sure Cloud was safe from whatever was happening. As he ran, he also wondered where Sephiroth could be during all this and if he was safe too. After finding Cloud, Zack decided that he would also try to find Sephiroth. He had to make sure everyone was okay.

Zack ran down alleyway after alleyway, looking every possible place he thought Cloud would be. Soon he was coming to a familiar area; the area where he usually trained with Sephiroth. Upon entering the area, Zack stopped dead in his tracks and stared wide-eyed at the sight in front of him. Several feet away, he saw Sephiroth and Cloud, but it was not at all what he was expecting.

Cloud was backed up against the wall, with a terrified look across his face. Standing a few feet across from him was Sephiroth, grinning a cruel smile towards Cloud. Not only that, but he was holding his sword out, and it was pointed right at Cloud. The tip of the blade was just about several inches away from Cloud's rapid breathing chest.

A fit of anger flew over Zack. He had no idea why Sephiroth would do such a thing. Zack ran towards them, holding his buster sword up high. Once he got a little closer, he shouted out, "Sephiroth! Cloud!"

Both turned their heads in the direction of Zack as he ran closer. In the next second, Zack swung his sword at Sephiroth's, knocking it off to the side. He now stood right in front of Cloud, with one hand gripping the buster sword. He held out his other hand in front of Cloud.

"Zack!" Cloud shouted, though his voice trembled. His eyes were full of tears, and his hands were visibly shaking.

With his free hand, Zack turned around and pulled Cloud towards him. He wrapped his arm around Cloud and held him tight. As soon as he had Cloud in his embrace, he could hear him sobbing uncontrollably.

"Hey...it's okay. I'm here now. It's okay, you're alright. Your big brother Zack is here now," Zack said in a comforting tone. He had never seen Cloud so distraught and terrified all at once. Whatever Sephiroth did or said, it really got to Cloud, and just the thought of it made the anger in Zack grow further.

He turned his attention back to Sephiroth, who had just been calmly waiting through all of that. Now finally getting a good look at him...something felt different. Something felt off about Sephiroth. He still had his cool and calm demeanor, but there was something about the way he was smiling that was bothering Zack.

"Sephiroth! What were you doing?!" Zack finally shouted. "What's gotten into you?"

Sephiroth merely just chuckled, as if he hadn't done anything at all. "I was only having a conversation with the boy."

"You had your _sword at his chest_!" Zack hissed. "That doesn't really sound like 'having a conversation' to me!"

"You do not understand Zack. Cloud was not listening to me. I saw great potential in him, but he refused to do what was needed to achieve that potential."

"Just what are you talking about?! Answer me Sephiroth!" Zack said as he held up his sword towards him.

Sephiroth smiled coldly, "Using the darkness of course."

Zack gasped, "What?"

"Ever since I brought you back and you told me of your endeavor with the darkness, I have looked more into the darkness...and I found its power...intriguing."

"That's not what you should be doing Sephiroth! I told you that using the darkness wasn't good. Why would you choose to do this?" Zack asked.

"The darkness...its power can make you stronger. Think of it Zack, you told me before it increased your strength," Sephiroth replied.

"Yeah, but you shouldn't give yourself into the darkness like that! And you said you saw potential in Cloud and decided to point a sword at him?! Sephiroth think! Something very strange is going on here...there are these creatures running around, everyone is in a panic." Zack explained.

"The Heartless." Sephiroth said.

"What?" Zack asked.

"I heard that is the name of those creatures. They are creatures of the darkness...with enough power, you could even control them."

"Forget it! Something has gotten in your head, and I guess I gotta help you out." Zack said before letting go of Cloud and placed his other hand on the handle of his buster sword. Before Sephiroth could say anything more, Zack looked over at Cloud and shouted "Cloud get out of here! Run!"

Cloud stood there for a moment, but he soon nodded and took off running. Once Cloud was out of sight, Zack focused his attention back on Sephiroth. "Alright. Now we can get back to where we were."

"You think you are going to fight me? You still aren't nearly as strong as me, especially since now I have the power of the darkness." Sephiroth said.

"I won't give up though! You're a friend of mine, and I am not going to let the darkness take hold of you!" Zack shouted.

"How amusing..." Sephiroth chuckled. "Your confidence is outstanding, but it means nothing." Sephiroth raised a hand into the air as he spoke. Uneasy tension fill the air as Zack readied himself for whatever came next. Darkness suddenly started to creep in all around them.

Zack jumped to the side as a pool of darkness was starting to form beneath his feet. He glared at Sephiroth again, "What have you done?"

"I told you, I acquired the darkness, and I have newfound powers now. Do not attempt to fight me Zack, you will only fail miserably. Instead join me and embrace the darkness."

"No. I am going to try to smack some sense into you, and also get back at you for scaring Cloud!" Zack said before charging at his mentor and clashed his sword against the other.

Sparks flew as the two swords clashed with each other, metal grinding against metal. The masamune vs the buster sword. They volleyed for superiority as Zack tried to push Sephiroth back. Sephiroth stood his ground as he casually smiled at Zack as their swords were locked. This made Zack more upset, and he wanted to get more answers from Sephiroth.

"Sephiroth, just stop this! You don't need to do any of this!" he yelled in a desperate attempt.

"You're wrong Zack. This is exactly what I need. And so do the both of you."

Sephiroth increased his strength, overpowering Zack's attempts. Zack was shaken as he slid backwards. He planted his sword into the ground as he went, slowly stopping his momentum. He looked upward to see Sephiroth extending his hand.

"Zack, you and Cloud should join me. Give into the darkness. It will give you power."

"I'll never give into it!" Zack retorted in anger as he flicked his arm to the side. "And this is between you and me. Just leave Cloud out of this!"

Sephiroth chuckled as he gave a snarky grin, "Oh but Zack, I can't do that. You will see soon enough."

He then charged forward in a flash at Zack, with his sword pointed directly towards him. Barely having time to react, Zack rolled out of the way as the sword slammed into the wall behind him, destroying it with the impact Sephiroth caused. Zack looked back toward Sephiroth.

Rather, he was looking now at the spot where Sephiroth was just standing. However, he had suddenly vanished. Zack soon heard a bone-chilling voice from behind his head.

"Looking for me?" Sephiroth rhetorically asked as he kicked Zack in the abdomen and backwards into the rubble that he had just produced.

Zack gasped for air as he attempted to recover from that harsh kick, all the while breathing in the dust from the debris that had barely settled. He slowly stood up, trying to focus his eyes back on Sephiroth. His vision had gone blurry in one eye. He wiped away what he thought was sweat from his brow, but when he removed his hand, is was bright, red...blood. Zack became a bit lost in thought at the sight of it all. " _I must have hit my head in that rubble far harder than I thought. This isn't looking too good for me. Can I even win? But, I have to do this. For Cloud, for all of us!"_

He straightened up as he gathered his senses once again, gripping his buster sword firmly as he directed his attention towards the long, silvery-haired man. Sephiroth just stood there, arms crossed, as if he were waiting for Zack to find himself.

"It seems you have your head back in it now. Come then, let us finish this Zack."

Zack glared at Sephiroth, then his eyes lightened as he looked downward as he spoke.

"We don't have to do this Sephiroth. Come on...I looked up to you. As a mentor. As a friend…", he trailed off. He attempted to gather his words as his emotions tumbled inside him. Feelings of anger, regret, doubt, sadness, fear...it all weighed on his heart. Finally, he found his nerve. He clenched his hand tightly, so tight that he drew blood. His head then shot up at Sephiroth.

"But...most of all, I looked up to you as a hero. You were a hero to all of us! I wanted to be like you. To lead people and help them. Not... whatever this is." Zack emotionally yelled.

"Oh but Zack, you still can be like me. You can still become a hero. Become like me and accept the darkness. You've felt it once before. You know the feeling, so don't resist now." Sephiroth stated coldly with a sly grin.

Zack gritted his teeth, and gripped his buster sword with both hands. Zack was tired of hearing Sephiroth's words. Without speaking again, he mustered the strength and launched himself forward towards Sephiroth. He ran for a ways before leaping into the air. He raised his sword above his head as gravity carried him downward. He swung it with all his might down at Sephiroth, who raised his sword, this time with both hands and an interested look on his face.

Upon the swords colliding with each other, the sheer force of that collision buckled the ground on which they were standing. Now they were in a small crater, in a deadlock of a struggle for control. For once, it looked as though Sephiroth might actually be trying to hold Zack off. Finally realizing it was a stalemate, both men back away before charging each other again. Zack swung his sword repeatedly as Sephiroth parried every blow. Sparks flew in all directions.

After several more blows, Zack jumped away as Sephiroth launched an attack of his own. Zack stopped to catch his breath for a moment, trying to decide what to do.

Sephiroth looked on. "Are you finished already Zack? Then just submit already."

Finally, he thought of one move that might slow Sephiroth down...at least enough so he could escape and find Cloud. Zack breathed in heavily as he attempted to calm himself.

"No Sephiroth. I have to stop you, one way...or another," Zack spoke with assuredness.

He gripped his sword with both hands, holding it firmly in front of him as he closed his eyes. He focused all of the remaining power he had into what he was about to do. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, and he quickly appeared behind Sephiroth. Sephiroth looked slightly caught off guard, but he still managed to block Zack's attempted strike. Then, Zack was gone. He now on the other side across the arena, as he raised his buster sword and swung it in a downward motion. A trail of energy was emitted from the sword, striking the spot at which Sephiroth stood. Sephiroth stood and parried the blast. Zack then proceeded to move quickly around the arena, launching strikes at Sephiroth constantly for quite some time. Finally, one of the energy barrages managed to singe a bit of Sephiroth's hair. As he was distracted by that, Zack saw the opportunity and closed in and lunged his sword forward as he yelled.

Sephiroth was a bit shocked the sword had managed to cut into his arm, but he had just managed to turn his body to avoid a direct hit. Then, Zack saw his face grow even more cold, and a sinister grin came across it. He grabbed onto the buster sword as dark energy swirled around him. Zack could not lodge his sword loose, and was helpless as Sephiroth spoke.

"Ah so you decided to use _that_ move. Hmfh. Not a bad attempt. You learned well from me. But...you can never hope to defeat me with that level of power. Now, let me show you a true Octaslash." Sephiroth boasted as let go of Zack's sword.

Zack stumbled backwards form the force of him trying to pull loose. Then, Sephiroth kicked him into the air. Time seemed to slow down for Zack, as Sephiroth then proceeded to teleport around the arena, swinging his masamune at him in several directions for what seemed like forever. Zack had never felt so much pain before as each slash felt like it cut deep. Then, Sephiroth moved in and kicked Zack down towards the ground.

Zack flew back several feet before his back collided with the ground. Letting out a loud, pained cry, Zack ended up letting go of his buster sword. Slowly, he rolled over onto his stomach and pushed himself up onto his knees. He looked up and saw Sephiroth had approached him again. Zack started to reach for his buster sword, but before he could reach it, Sephiroth almost seemed to fly right in front of him, knocking the sword farther away.

Now with no weapon nearby, he could hear a laugh coming from Sephiroth. Zack frantically looked around, trying to find where he had gone. "Sephiroth! Show yourself already!"

"I'm right here Zack," Sephiroth said coldly.

Zack looked in front of himself to see that Sephiroth's sword was just a about a foot away from his face. Tensing up Zack had no idea what to do, as he had never fought Sephiroth like this before. His whole body was tired and exhausted now, but he knew he couldn't give up.

"Do you see now Zack?" Sephiroth asked. "You failed against me for my strength has increased far beyond anything before. You could become stronger too. The darkness will make you stronger. I still hold my offer for you and Cloud to join me."

Zack shook his head as he slowly stood up, "No Sephiroth, you're wrong. I know you are better than this! Darkness is not the way!"

Sephiroth stared at Zack for a moment, his eyes sharp and cold, then a cruel smile crossed his face,"Then perish."

With a quick flash Sephiroth charged right at Zack, not giving him a second to react. Zack felt Sephiroth hit against him, knocking him back again. Though this time, Zack surprisingly didn't hit the ground, but instead he landed in something that he seemed to be sinking in. Blinking a few times to adjust his eyes, he saw he had landed in one of the pools of darkness in the area. He tried to get up, but it was impossible. No matter how hard Zack struggled, he only seemed to sink more into the darkness.

"Sephiroth!" Zack cried out, hoping that maybe Sephiroth would realize what was happening and help. But that did not happen. Sephiroth only stood and watched and Zack began to sink deeper into the darkness.

"Farewell Zack," Sephiroth said with the coldest tone that Zack had ever heard him use.

Zack could have sworn he heard something else being said...someone shouting perhaps...but he had completely sunk into the darkness now, and everything seemed to fade away from his mind. He slowly closed his eyes as he descended deeper and deeper into the dark abyss, and his mind drifted off into sleep.

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That brings us to the end of that chapter, and the end of the flashback. Now you guys know what really happened to Zack (according to us anyways). This chapter was shorter than the last one, but I believe we got the point across. Now we are just figuring out where to go with the next part, but it will be here soon. Hope you guys enjoyed this latest chapter! Don't forget to follow if you want the latest updates. And let us know what you thought. Until the next time!


	6. Chapter 6

And welcome back to this story, co-authored by my good friend **Riku Kingdom** **Hearts.** We are finally back from the flashback side and can get back to business as usual in the RoD. Thank you all for keeping up with this story. Let's not prattle too long and get on with the chapter!

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"Well, I guess that's all there is to it. After that I woke up here, and I've been fighting all of these Heartless ever since..." Zack trailed off, bowing his head in thought.

Zack had talked for what seemed like hours, and maybe it had been. There was no way to tell in the Realm of Darkness. His heart was racing now, recalling all of those painful memories. He remembered the constant battle with the Heartless, not knowing sometimes if he would survive. Every battle he went through, He had tried to remain positive throughout the entire situation; however, with recent events, he was unsure if he had really done the right thing all of those years ago. But then he remembered something. Aqua had been here too, fighting the same as him. He looked back up at Aqua, who was staring at him with concern, but also empathy in her eyes.

"Zack, I understand what you're going through. I've been fighting this battle for a long time myself. I've felt like giving in several times. The darkness...it is tempting…" Aqua trailed off with her words now as she became lost in thought.

They both were dealing with many problems, all caused from being trapped in the Realm of Darkness. She thought back to Terra… and what had become of him. She remembered what Zack had said about Terra when he explained his story. How he had told his former friend Sephiroth how he looked up to Terra. How he admired Terra for beating the darkness originally, but now she was afraid what he thought since she had told him what had happened. But, she did feel like they could help each other with this struggle.

"I know how you feel...how it feels to lose a friend to the darkness. I told you what happened with Terra...One of my closest friends...he is lost to the darkness. I know he is still fighting it though. I know there must be a way to save him, and Ventus too. That's why I can't give up. I have to get back to them and help them somehow."

"I understand how you feel… If I ever get out of here I want to find Sephiroth. I want to believe there is a way I can save him…", he said as he trailed off in thought again.

Zack began to think about Sephiroth and Terra, and decided to just let his thoughts be heard.

"You know...Sephiroth was a good friend to me. He taught me many things about how to fight and how to live. He helped me and Cloud both quite a bit on our journey…" Zack paused for a moment. "And Terra...he's such a good friend as well. Like I told you before, he reminded me of Sephiroth. He even stopped me from being consumed by darkness that time…"

Zack tried to collect his thoughts as Aqua continued to listen intently

"They were both like heroes to me, and I wanted to be like them. But now...the two people that I looked up to have fallen to darkness. I'm just not sure what to do for them now…"

Zack bowed his head, in anguish over thinking of his two friends. He was unsure of what to make of the situation now that he finally had stopped to think about it all. He then decided to look back up, only to see Aqua staring at him as if prepared to speak. Then she did.

"Zack, it's okay to feel like that. But, all is not lost. Terra actually came to me here in the Realm of Darkness. He wasn't physically here, but I could see him...speak to him. He told me he is still fighting the darkness trying to control him, and I witnessed it first hand."

Zack's eyes widened. "Are you serious? That's good to hear he is still fighting it. Just like he did with me."

Aqua replied, "Yes, he is. So, just know that maybe hope is not lost. If Terra can fight it off, then surely your friend Sephiroth can as well."

Zack was slightly uplifted at hearing of this development. It gave him hope now that maybe he could convince Sephiroth to come back, and that Terra would be okay.

"Thanks for telling me that. I do feel quite a bit better knowing that now. And don't worry," Zack said as he cheerfully smiled, "I really do feel like now that both of them can be saved."

Zack's words echoed in Aqua's mind. She wanted to believe too that Terra could be rescued. However, she had doubted herself and him many times. But, Zack was still believing in the man that once saved him from the darkness. She decided that she needed to do the same.

"You know Zack, our situations aren't too different you know? We both ended up in here because of the ones we care about. I'm here because of Terra, trying to save him. And to protect Ven…"

"Yea, you're right. I mean, I'm here because of Sephiroth, and him turning to darkness. I had to protect Cloud too, so I fought a losing battle. You know…" Zack started to say, but went silent.

He sat in silence for a moment as he contemplated the thoughts forming in his mind. Thoughts of Sephiroth and Cloud again made him remember what he had experienced here not to long ago. It was painful to remember, but he knew that he should share anyways.

"I actually fought Sephiroth here, in the Realm of Darkness. Or at least I thought it was him. He definitely hit just as hard. But, he faded away before I had the chance to say much. I thought I may be going crazy, but then I saw Cloud. And…" He paused once again before summoning up the courage to continue his story. It felt nice to actually let all of it flow out from his mind. "Cloud, he said many things, about me not being there for him. That I didn't save him… But, I was sure I did. I started to doubt myself, but I thought maybe this place was playing tricks on me. I wanted to get some answers, but was never able."

Zack started to get a bit flustered as he trailed off his words, thinking again about what had transpired some undetermined time ago. Suddenly, Aqua spoke up, addressing what was said.

"Zack, you are correct in assuming that it is a trick. The darkness has shown many things I thought were real. I even fought a shadow of myself once. After finally defeating it, I realized something. It was my own doubts and fears over this whole situation-"

Zack interrupted her mid sentence. "Wait, so that _is_ what it was?! I...never thought that I doubted myself like that. But I guess the presence of darkness can be overwhelming."

"Yes Zack it can. The darkness is tempting to give into, but we have to fight it. That's what I've learned. I know you feel the same way."

"Yea, I know you're right. It's just, all I can think about is Cloud. I just hope he has been alright after all these years... Though I do hope it was worth it…"

Zack lowered his head again, trying to process things. Suddenly, he felt a tight grip form on his shoulders. He looked up to see Aqua, arms outstretched, with a serious look in her eyes.

"Of course it will be worth it Zack. We have to get through this. Our friends are counting on us. We've fought this long. Though, I am tired...we are both tired. But, who will be there for them if we can't do it?" Aqua questioned through glistening eyes.

Zack noticed a slight tear stream down her right cheek. He knew that she had much on her mind as well. Zack tried to hold it together, but Aqua was right. He was tired. He was tired of holding it in. Tears formed in his eyes as he began to cry, thinking about all of the hardships he had been through. The weight of everything crashed down upon him as he buried his head. Aqua pulled him closer to her, resting his head on her chest.

Aqua admittedly was finally feeling the pressure of everything as well. It had been so long since she had been able to hold someone close, especially a dear friend. She welcomed the company, to be able to share in this struggle. She rested her head on top of his, closing her eyes as they both sat there for an absorbent amount of time before finally breaking the silence.

"Hey, you remember when we first met? Back in the colosseum. All of us together. I do", Aqua stated vaguely as she trailed off her words.

Looking up, Zack saw that she was staring off into the distance in thought as her arm was still firmly around his neck. He wiped away a few stray tears and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Yea, I do remember", he said, a slight bit more pep in his tone. "It seems so long ago now, but also as if it just happened yesterday. Well, whenever yesterday really is. But, meeting you, Terra, and Ven...those were some of the best times," he ended, smiling gently at the memories.

Looking back down towards, Zack, she couldn't help but return the smile that he attempted to make through what was obviously hard for him.

"Yea...remember, that's what we are trying to get back. I have to remind myself of that sometimes. But, you also have things you want back. So, we have to try and focus on that. Besides...weren't you going to become a hero?"

"Hero? Ha, I'm no hero. It was always my dream...but how can I be a hero if I couldn't even save the person closest to me…" He closed his eyes and gave a big sigh.

But all of a sudden, he felt something strike him on his cheek, and it was now burning like fire. He opened his eyes again to see Aqua with fire in her eyes. She had slapped him pretty hard. Her hand was rared back as if to attempt to do the same thing again as she tried to talk to Zack.

"That's not true and you know it! Remember the story you told me. How you fought Sephiroth to save your brother. Even though you knew you would lose, you still fought so he wouldn't have to. I believe that in itself is what it means to become a hero. At least to me."

Zack stared for a moment at the blue-haired keyblade wielder as she finished speaking, captured by the words she had spoken. He processed them quickly as he responded.

"Aqua...thank you. I needed that. I'm glad that I'm not here alone anymore. I wish neither of us were here, but we can at least be here for each other. You're the light in my darkness." Zack gave a smile that reminded Aqua of the innocent young boy that he used to be. But, his words that were spoken were that of an experienced young man.

Aqua blushed at the compliment. " _It seems Terra really did rub off on him some"_ , she thought, giving a slight chuckle as she held her hand over her mouth.

Zack looked confused. "What, what did I say?", he asked with wide eyes.

"Oh, nothing too much. I was just thinking of how you really do remind me of Terra now. You really have grown Zack...and, I'm glad that you're here too. There's always a way!"

Zack smiled at the consideration that Aqua was giving him. It meant alot to finally have someone to be there after so long of nothing. They continued to talk for what seemed like hours, but nobody knew really how long was passing. They did not care. The only thing that mattered was that they were finally able to get some rest from the fighting.

Finally, after much deliberation, Zack pounced up from his sitting position, proceeding to do his squats as he prepared for what was to be a long and arduous journey.

"Well, Aqua, I guess we better get going to find a way out."

"Yea, sure thing," she replied as she stood back up herself.

The both of them then carried on through the Realm of Darkness, searching for some way to get out, yet not knowing for what exactly they were looking. What seemed like a few minutes passed before they started to notice a change in the area. The darkness started to grow a bit heavier as they felt the pressure of it encroaching on their being. It wasn't unusual for being in the Realm of Darkness, but as they walked they had a sudden thought.

"Zack, do you find it odd that we were able to relax for so long with no Heartless coming?"

"You know, I was just starting to think that myself. I didn't care back then, but now that you mention it, it is kinda odd. I wonder why that is."

Just as Zack was finishing his sentence, he noticed a few normal Heartless starting to appear.

"Aqua! Well, it looks like our relaxing time is over, huh?"

"Yea, it looks like it. Stay on your guard Zack. With this much darkness, there's no telling what might come our way."

Zack removed his sword from his sheath on his back, as Aqua summoned her Master's Defender keyblade. More Heartless began to pop up slowly as they stood back to back, ready to take on all challenges.

Zack charged and hit them hem with his sword, stunning them. Then, he grabbed his sword with both hands and swung it across the line of Neoshadows that were in front of him, and dispatched of them in one fell swoop. He briefly glanced behind him with his peripheral vision to see that Aqua had taken care of hers as well.

When the Heartless attack finally subsided for a moment, Zack spoke up again.

"Ugh, Aqua, maybe we should try and find another location to get to. Maybe they are just popping up around here," he said with a furrow on his brow.

Aqua nodded at his suggestion as they took off running away from the area, not looking back. They traveled for what seemed like several minutes before coming to an area. Everything seemed normal as they paused to catch a breath of air. Then, the air started to once again grow thick as a dense fog enveloped all around them. The Heartless suddenly appeared again but this time, it was an army of Invisibles, along with some Darkballs.

Zack and Aqua decided to split up and take on each side separately, knowing the other is more than capable of holding their own. The Darkballs came at them first as the Invisibles stood back. They easily dispatched of the Darkballs and the dissipated back into the darkness. They looked at the Invisibles and decided they should try and finish it quickly.

Aqua summoned up magical energy around her and raised her keyblade into the air. "Ice Barrage!" she shouted as many different ice crystals formed around her keyblade. She shot them at the invisibles and continued to summon this attack until all of the enemies had been hit. The Heartless were launched into the air, frozen helpless as they could do nothing. Aqua gave a nod to Zack, who then took on towards the invisibles. He dashed forward and leaped into the air, swinging his sword downward in a slashing motion at the invisibles, which ultimately cut them in two as the broke from the ice and faded into darkness. Each slash became stronger, and when he got to the last row of enemies, he swung his sword in a horizontal sweeping motion, creating a line of light that cut through all in front of him.

Zack drifted back towards the ground as Aqua was there waiting for him, breathing a sigh of relief at dispatching of all of those heartless before she decided to speak up.

"Zack, that was pretty incredible what you did. I don't remember you using any moves like that back in the colosseum."

Zack threw his sword over his shoulder as he spoke. "Well, all of this fighting has helped to develop some new moves of my own, and to make me considerably stronger."

"I see...that does make sense. I am the same way after all…" Aqua stated as she looked around at the area they were in. Turning back to Zack, she offered a suggestion. "Why don't we move somewhere else again so we can finally rest."

Zack gave her a grin. "Sure thing. Let's go."

The two of them walked off into the darkness, hoping to find an area that was not swarming with Heartless for once. Though, that was a bit much to hope for in the Realm of Darkness. Once they walked for a bit longer, they came to another clearing. They sat down next to the darkly warped tree that was beside them. Aqua then healed the both of them so they would not be caught off guard and be already weak. She erected a magical barrier to protect them as they rested.

"Hey Zack, all of those Heartless appearing like that...did you find it odd? I mean, it's just been on my mind since that last encounter."

Zack looked over at Aqua. "Yea it is kind of odd. I don't know as much about them as you do, but you're right. I had the same thought. But...it also reminds me of the time when Sephiroth had appeared as well…", Zack trailed off his thoughts as he pondered the situation.

Zack then stood up and walked around some, thinking on the situation and trying to figure out what was going on, as well as how they were going to get out of the Realm of Darkness. He stood there for a while, staring off into the darkness. Suddenly, he noticed the darkness became a bit thicker, and that same fog returned...just the same as before.

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And there is the end of that one. We worked pretty hard to get this one done. Now a bit of info. My co-author will be on vacay for a while, the next chapter pretty much wrapped up. So, I will get that one posted in a decent time as there will not be updates other than that one for a while. I promise that it is worth the wait though. But, I want to thank all of you for keeping up with the story so far. If you liked it, let us know. Until next time!


	7. Chapter 7

And welcome back to this story, co-authored by my good friend **Riku Kingdom** **Hearts.** Big thanks to them for coming up with a good portion of the details for this chapter. This idea was conceived a while back, so we knew where we wanted to take it from the beginning. It turned out quite nicely, so I hope all of you enjoy this next part of the story. Let's get to it!

* * *

Zack stood still as he stared off into the distance. Suddenly, through the darkness, he thought he saw a silhouette of something...or someone. Taking deep breaths, his eyes tried to focus on what he was seeing. "It can't be…" He muttered quietly under his breath.

Aqua stopped and looked back at him, "Is something wrong?" Aqua then looked over in the direction Zack was staring. Her eyes widened, "There's someone out there."

Zack snapped his head back to Aqua, "You see him too? That means…" He trailed off as he looked back. "Aqua, please wait here just a few minutes." Aqua opened her mouth to ask why, but before she could, Zack took off running towards the figure in the distance.

"Sephiroth!" Zack shouted as he ran towards the figure. At first he thought he was just seeing another illusion...but if Aqua could see him, that had to mean only one thing. This was the real Sephiroth, and Zack could finally get his answers.

As soon as Zack got within a few feet of Sephiroth, he turned around to face Zack. He wore a cold, cruel smile. "Zack. It's been awhile."

"How… How long has it been?" Zack asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. Though he remembered Aqua saying that about ten years had passed in the Realm of Light since she had came here, so he figured only about nine years had passed since he became trapped here. While Sephiroth did look older, he still almost looked the same as he did before, except he now had a new outfit.

"Long enough that I have full control over darkness," Sephiroth said as he raised his hand up, and darkness swirled around his hand.

"So you really did give into the darkness! Why?! What made you do that?!" Zack shouted.

"I did not give into the darkness. I accepted it and I became stronger," Sephiroth casually replied.

"But why...Why would you give into the darkness like that..." Zack asked. "Wait! What happened to Cloud?"

Sephiroth chuckled while still smiling coldly, "He has slowly learned what it means to use the darkness. You should learn this as well." Sephiroth then raised his sword.

"No! I won't give into the darkness," Zack said as he gripped the handle of his sword tightly. He had come so far and dealt with so much, he wasn't going to let the darkness grab hold of him. He had to stay strong.

"Then you shall perish instead."

"I won't!" Zack retorted. "Now tell me what happened to Cloud!"

"What happened to Cloud is none of your concern," Sephiroth chuckled. "Now let's see if you have learned anything from your time here."

"Zack!" Aqua shouted as she ran towards them, her keyblade in hand. But before she could get close, Sephiroth raised his hand and a barrier of darkness formed around him and Zack. Aqua smacked her keyblade against the barrier, but it had no effect.

"This is just between you and me. Zack. You think you can win against me without the power of darkness? Then prove it."

Zack looked back at Aqua for a moment. He gave her an optimistic smile, "Don't worry, I got this."

Aqua sighed and nodded slightly, "Be careful."

Zack turned back to face Sephiroth. In that instant, Sephiroth charged at Zack, raising his sword high as he prepared to strike. Zack gripped his sword tightly with both hands, holding it up in defense as Sephiroth's blade crashed quickly downward against his. The weight of the Masamune beared down upon Zack's smaller blade, causing him to stagger backwards. With all the strength he could muster, Zack tried to push Sephiroth back. He firmly planted his foot forward and leaned into his sword, and, with quick reflexes, shoved Sephiroth back a bit before tumbling over to the side. Before he even had a chance to catch his breath, Sephiroth came again, with his sword on guard. Zack parried the attempted stab, knocking Sephiroth's blade back as he continued to dodge and block all of Sephiroth's oncoming attacks.

After yet another attack, Sephiroth took a step back, "It seems you have gotten stronger since we last trained together. But you still are no match for me." A dark aura formed around Sephiroth as he charged again at Zack. This time though he was twice as fast.

Zack just barely got out of the way as Sephiroth closed in on him with a diagonal slash downward, the force of the swing splitting the ground open. Sephiroth rose into the air as he performed an attack with several wild slashes from his sword, teleporting around Zack at all angles with each new attack. Zack was somehow able to dodge the attacks as the ground behind him echoed with pain at being sliced open. The two continued to fight on, swords clashing against each other in brilliant sparks as the ground around them began to crack with the intensity of the battle. Zack seemed to be holding up fine for a while, but he slowly was starting to slip up. Sephiroth readied his Octaslash again, but Zack was only able to cleanly dodge the first half as the last few slashes barely grazed his body, making new incisions. He was beginning to be out of breath as he bent over in exhaustion. His whole body was still sore and still had not fully recovered from all the previous battles.

Sephiroth chuckled, "Do you see now Zack? You are weak. But the darkness can help. It can help make you stronger. If you want to have a chance to defeat me, you will give yourself into the darkness."

Zack shook his head, "No... You may be stronger than me. You are much stronger than when we last fought... but I won't give up. I can't…" Zack then dropped down to one knee as he tried to catch his breath. Not only was he tired from the fight, but he was beginning to worry that he wouldn't actually be able to defeat Sephiroth. He couldn't give up though. He knew Aqua was watching him, and he didn't want to disappoint her or leave her to face Sephiroth alone.

Zack looked up to see Sephiroth preparing to attack again, when suddenly a blur of black appeared from above and landed between them. Whomever it was had a faint glow of light to them. Upon looking closer, Zack saw that the person standing in front of him carried a buster sword, or something that closely resembled a buster sword. It reminded him of the buster sword he had before he was thrown into the Realm of Darkness. Looking more at the person, Zack noticed something strangely familiar. He knew he could never forget that blond spiky hair.

"Cloud?!" Zack asked.

The person turned around and looked at Zack with surprise, as the golden light aura faded away. It was indeed Cloud, but he looked much older. He now looked just a little older than Zack. " _It really has been about nine years in the Realm of Light…"_ Zack thought to himself. Zack stood back up and looked at Cloud, but he still couldn't believe it was him. If he was fighting the real Sephiroth, then this had to be the real Cloud.

Cloud stared back with wide eyes. "Z-Zack?" he asked, sounding almost uncertain. "Is that really you?"

Zack smiled as he walked up to Cloud. They were now much closer in height, though perhaps Cloud was just a few inches taller now. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"I guess it has," Cloud replied.

"It's good to see you again," Zack said as he placed a hand on Cloud's shoulder. "Looks like you've done some growing. You're just about as tall as me now," Zack said as he chuckled.

"And you look barely a day older," Cloud said with a small smile.

"A very touching reunion," Sephiroth commented coldly. Both Zack and Cloud turned their attention back to him. "Cloud, I did not expect you to catch up to me so quickly."

Cloud glared at Sephiroth, "I am not going to let you get away again."

Sephiroth chuckled, "Well now that both of you are here, you can both learn what it means to use the power of darkness." Sephiroth's black wing stretched out as he now floated a few feet above the ground. More darkness formed around him as he smiled cynically.

Zack stood next to Cloud, now feeling a surge of energy flowing through him. Seeing that Cloud was alive and well really boosted his spirit. "We'll take him down together, right Cloud?" Zack asked with a cheerful smile.

Cloud nodded, "Yeah."

The two then held up their weapons and charged right at Sephiroth. They two blocked and swung their weapons at Sephiroth as much as they could, but they could not actually land a hit on Sephiroth. On the other hand though he was able to knock them back and around the area with much more strength than he had before. The darkness around Sephiroth swelled as his attacks became stronger and much more deadly. Zack and Cloud jumped at Sephiroth again, raising their weapons above their heads to strike down on him, but Sephiroth knocked them both back with a powerful darkness filled attack.

Zack tumbled to the ground, just a few feet away from Cloud. Groaning, Zack pushed himself back onto his feet. " _Just how are we going to defeat him?...We can barely get close enough to hit him."_

When Zack looked up he saw Sephiroth just a little bit in front of him, holding his sword out all the way. The tip of the blade just a few feet away. The evil look in Sephiroth's eyes actually made Zack freeze up. It stung his heart deeply to see what Sephiroth had become. Someone he once had looked up to now was apart of the darkness. Someone he once thought of as a friend was now trying to kill him.

"Zack!" Cloud shouted.

When Zack turned, he saw Cloud running at him, a desperate look on his face as he slammed into Zack, knocking him towards the ground. He seemed to fall in slow motion, the world shrinking down to just the scene in front of him, and the horrifying realization of what Cloud had done.

He hit the ground at the same time that Cloud screamed.

It was a raw scream of pain, one that sent chills through Zack, and the sight in front of him was one he knew would be branded into his mind for the rest of his life.

Cloud was impaled on Sephiroth's sword, the metal dripping red with blood. It ran right through his stomach. Cloud's blade hit the ground with a clatter, and his hands rose up to grab the sword running through him, unnoticing of how it cut into his palms. For a moment, the world was still, frozen in a horrifying tableau.

Cloud made an awful choking sound, slipping forwards on the blade a few inches, before Sephiroth pulled it free entirely, causing Cloud to fall gracelessly to the ground, blood already pooling around him. He didn't move.

Zack wanted to do something, to scream, attack Sephiroth, save his brother, anything, but his body refused to cooperate. He was only able to stare numbly at Cloud's body, bile rising in his throat.

"How unfortunate," Sephiroth said in a mild tone, as if he were commenting on poor weather. The only indication of what he had just done was a faint smile on his face, one of cruel satisfaction.

"No!" Zack shouted angrily, finally finding the words. Though his whole body felt weak and shaky, Zack managed to run over to Cloud. "Cloud!" He turned Cloud over onto his back. Blood was smeared across his face. Cloud's whole body was shaking, and his breathing had become unsteady and fast paced.

Cloud groaned as he looked up at Zack, "I'm…I'm sorry…" Cloud muttered before turning his head to the side before coughing up some blood. "I'm still weak…"

Zack shook his head, "Don't be sorry...You aren't weak."

Cloud's breathing picked up again as he placed a hand over his fatal wound. He gritted his teeth before he looked at Zack again, now with a pained sullen expression across his face. "I am though...I… I let darkness into my heart… I couldn't...let go…."

"Cloud…" Zack said as his voice trembled as his eyes started to swell up with tears. He wanted to say something. He wanted to cheer up his friend… his brother. But he had no idea what to say or do. He looked down at his own hands and saw they were trembling with fear. He never had felt so scared before in his life.

Slowly Cloud reached out and grabbed his sword, he pulled it close and held the handle up to Zack, "Take it…"

"What? No I… I can't...It's yours," Zack said.

Cloud slowly shook his head, "I don't…deserve it. I've failed to keep the darkness out…You deserve to have this more than me..."

"But Cloud… come on. I know you are stronger than this. Don't give up," Zack said, trying to persuade Cloud.

Shaking his head again, he continued to hold out his sword, "Please take it….You need it more… than me…" Cloud said before he coughed up more blood.

Slowly, Zack reached out and placed his hand on the handle of Cloud's sword. As soon as he did Cloud dropped his arm back to the ground. "I'm sorry….I failed…" Cloud closed his eyes as his whole body went limp. Zack started to panic, but he saw that Cloud was still breathing, but just barely.

"Poor Cloud. If only he had truly let the darkness in, instead of trying to fight it," Sephiroth said, still sounding like he didn't have a care in the world.

Gritting his teeth, Zack looked up at Sephiroth. Zack stood up as he gripped the handle of Cloud's sword tightly in his hand, "What have you done?! What did you do to cause Cloud to think like that?!" He glared angrily at Sephiroth. He couldn't believe Sephiroth would do such a thing and still be so calm and cold about it.

Sephiroth merely just chuckled, "Me? I didn't do a thing. All of this was Cloud's fault."

Zack could feel the anger rising in him. The fire burning deep in his chest was growing stronger. He was going to burst any moment now, but he wanted answers. He needed answers now. "What do you mean?! Just tell me!"

Sephiroth smirked, "Very well. Cloud brought this upon himself. He led himself to believe absurd delusions. And those delusions led him to his own demise."

"Delusions?" Zack asked.

"After you were thrown into here, it really hurt Cloud. Cloud believed that it was his fault you were defeated against me. Not only that, but he became convinced with the absurd idea that I was the embodiment of his own darkness."

"And you just let him believe that?" Zack shouted back. The more he stared down at Sephiroth the more angry he got.

"It was amusing to see him think that. So I went along with his little delusion. I let him continue to believe it over the years."

"Why would you do that?! Explain!" Zack shouted, getting more and more aggressive in his tone.

"I saw the darkness in Cloud and I wanted to draw it out from him. Have him understand what it means to use the darkness. But he still managed to hold on to a little light. Even in the end, with him using the light, he still wasn't able to defeat me. Pathetic."

That was it. That was the final straw. Zack couldn't take it anymore, as he had finally hit his breaking point. Without another word, Zack gripped the handle of Cloud's sword tighter than ever before, yelling angrily and charging at Sephiroth with intensity.

He felt a great surge of energy flow through him. He felt strong and powerful, and he didn't care why. All he cared about was taking Sephiroth down. He swung down the large sword repeatedly at Sephiroth with all his might, making the ground crack open with each mighty blow as Sephiroth barely managed to dodge the swings. Sephiroth tried to block the next attack, but Zack was far to fast this time. With another powerful swing of the sword, Zack made contact with Sephiroth's body and shoved him back several feet. Sephiroth paused for just a moment to compose himself as he glanced over at Zack. Darkness seeped off of Zack and soon surrounded him, but he didn't seem to notice. His eyes were clouded over with darkness and hatred.

Zack advanced forward and continued to attack as Sephiroth blocked, he laughed, "That's it. Use that darkness to fuel your anger. Become stronger."

Zack only yelled out in anger again as he enveloped himself and his sword in darkness. The sword has almost turned a solid black as raised the giant sword in both hands above his head. Orbs of darkness started to form around the tip of the blade as he aimed the large Dark Volley attack directly at Sephiroth. The orbs collided with him, knocking him back some more as he went to a knee is distress. Before Sephiroth could even recover, Zack charged, the sword digging into the ground as he sprinted forward. Zack brought the sword up with increased momentum as Sephiroth barely raised his Masamune in time to block. The force of the slash was heavier than anything Sephiroth had felt as he was launched into the air backwards. He planted his long sword into the ground to keep from falling as he recovered, taken aback at the power Zack was showing.

"I have to admit. You've gotten pretty strong Zack. You wear the cloak of darkness well. Now just embrace it. Let it become one with you as I have, and you will attain true power. Now come." Smirking with a cynical smile as he finished his speech, Sephiroth prepared to face Zack once more, bringing his sword up to the normal on-guard position.

Zack did as Sephiroth beckoned as he dashed toward him in an instant, channeling the darkness into his sword as he moved. Sephiroth lunged with his sword towards Zack, except he wasn't there. He glanced around observantly as his focus turned to the air. Zack had his sword anchored at his shoulder, and with a strong motion brought it down, unleashing a wave of dark energy with it. He then began to teleport to different positions, swinging his sword with intensity as he moved each time. The slashes hit Sephiroth true and knocked him to the ground as the force of the other incoming slashes destroyed the ground around him. Sephiroth grimaced in pain as the flurry of slashes continued. Zack ceased his attack as he rushed Sephiroth, attacking swiftly and smacking him around.

In the time that Zack was actually hitting Sephiroth, the barrier of darkness faded away as Sephiroth was in a weakened state. Aqua took this chance and ran towards the two of them. "Zack! Stop!"

Zack stopped attacking and turned to look at Aqua. His chest rose and fell deeply with each breath. He stared back, but did not say a word. He blinks a few times as he shook his head, seeming to be fighting the urge to go back to ballistically Sephiroth.

"Don't give into the darkness like this!" Aqua shouted as she got closer. "Please don't give yourself to the darkness. I don't want to lose another friend!"

"I...I don't…I mean..." Zack said as he fumbled over his words, seeming to be snapped out of his rage. He placed a hand to his head as he groaned in pain.

"Don't bother. Let him accept the darkness," Sephiroth said as he regained his composure.

"No! He is stronger than that!" Aqua retorted. Aqua then recalled a memory. A memory that felt so long ago, "Zack! Do you remember when we first met? Remember what you told me about Terra? That he didn't use the darkness? You can be like that too! You don't need to use the darkness."

"Without the darkness he is weak," Sephiroth replied.

Zack stumbled back a bit from Aqua's words. He dropped down to his knees as the darkness around him faded away. "No. I… I don't need the darkness," Zack said with a deep breath. "You're wrong. I am stronger without it."

Sephiroth stared long at Zack before turning his attention to Aqua, "How intriguing…" Sephiroth muttered as he walked towards Aqua, who immediately summoned her keyblade. "Hm…. So you also have the keyblade. Let's see how strong you are."

Sephiroth swung his blade at Aqua, but before it could collide with her keyblade, it collided with Zack's sword. He was now standing in front of Aqua. With eyes fierce, he glared at Sephiroth. No longer clouded over with darkness, but instead shining his normal bright blue.

"You said your fight was with me Sephiroth. Leave Aqua out of this. Let's finish this, just you and me," Zack said.

Sephiroth stepped back, giving yet another cold smile, "Perhaps another time." Sephiroth then spread his wing and flew up into the darkness filled sky.

As soon as Sephiroth was gone, Zack dropped back down to his knees. He took in several deep breaths trying to calm himself.

"Are you alright?" Aqua asked.

Zack looked up to meet Aqua's eyes, "Yeah…" His attention was then directed towards where Cloud still layed. "Wait! Cloud! He needs our help!" Zack ran over to Cloud and kneeled besides him. The fear returned into his heart again, causing it to race rapidly.

Cloud was pale and hardly breathing, but it was the very faint breathing that gave Zack hope. Aqua walked over and held her keyblade over Cloud and casted Curaga. The bright green light fell over Cloud's body. In a matter of seconds his breathing returned to a more steady pace, but he did not wake yet.

Zack sighed with relief as he sat down on the ground and brought his legs up against his chest. "At least he is alright now." He was happy that Cloud was going to be alright, but his heart still throbbed in sadness and pain. Cloud had almost died right in front of him. He almost had lost his little brother just after reuniting with him. It was more than he wanted to handle. But he knew overall he was just glad to see Cloud again.

After desummong her keyblade, Aqua sat down next to Zack, "So this is your friend you told me about? Your little adopted brother?"

Zack nodded as he rested his arms on top of his knees, "Yeah, this is Cloud. I never thought I'd get to see him again though."

"Your lucky," Aqua sighed, "I wish that I could get to see my friend again one day."

"You will get to see them again, I know it," Zack gave a small smile towards Aqua. Zack then rested his chin on his arms.

"Thanks," Aqua replied.

Zack let out a long sigh, "I guess I still really am not a hero yet, right?" He chuckled weakly with a smile as he spoke, but Aqua could easily tell that Zack was forcing that smile. She could see the tears in Zack's eyes. The tears he tried so badly to fight back. "Even after all I have been through… I still almost gave into the darkness…"

Aqua placed a gently hand on Zack's shoulder, "You are so much more of a hero than you were when I first met you. You've become so much stronger. You need to remember that."

Zack lifted his head and looked over at Aqua, the tears had started to stream down his face now. "But… when I saw… saw Sephiroth hurt Cloud I just..." Zack trailed off for a moment as he swallowed hard. The words were so hard to get out. "I just completely lost it. I was so angry...I couldn't control myself. I can't believe I let the darkness into my heart like that…"

"I understand how you feel," Aqua started, "Being here so long I too...have let some darkness in. But we are both stronger than the darkness."

Zack placed his hand over Aqua's. He smiled again. This time the smile felt natural and genuine. "Thanks Aqua. I am glad you are here with me… Without you I don't know what I would have done."

Aqua returned a smile as she wrapped her arms around Zack, giving him a tight hug. Zack continued to smile as he also hugged Aqua. The warmth of their hug seemed to make things feel much better for that one moment.

"You're welcome." Aqua said before they pulled back from their hug. The two then dropped their hands back down to their sides. Both unsure of what to say next, their cheeks ever so slightly red.

Cloud then began to stir. He groaned before slowly opening his eyes. He looked around until his eyes laid upon Zack. "Zack? Is it really you?"

Zack shifted back to on his knees, "Yeah it's me."

"This… it isn't a dream then?" Cloud asked as he slowly sat up. His eyes full of uncertainty. "You're really here?"

Without of moment of hesitation Zack wrapped his arms around Cloud, pulling him into a tight embrace. The tears started to come again, but Zack did his best to hold them back. But these tears felt happy, he didn't mind when they started to fall down his face. "Yes. I've missed you Cloud."

Cloud at first did not return the hug. He raised his arms up a little, but they shook with hesitation. But slowly he returned the hug to Zack. "I've missed you too..."

"It's so good to finally see you again little bro! Though," Zack laughed a little as he pulled back from the hug slightly to look at Cloud, "I guess you're the big bro now, right?"

Cloud chuckled weakly, the tears had now begun to stream down his eyes. "Heh…Y-Yeah… I guess so."

"It's just so good to see you. I'm glad that you are alright. We have a lot to catch up on!" Zack said as he continued the hug. It had been forever since Zack was filled with this much happiness. Seeing Cloud again really did bring up his spirit. He now knew at least that he hadn't failed Cloud, at least that was what he was hoping.

As much as Zack wanted to just keep hugging Cloud, he knew they would eventually have to let go. It was a little hard, but Cloud was here. That was what mattered. The two pulled back from the hug, Zack now having a big cheerful grin across his face. "Oh! This is Aqua by the way." Zack guestured over to Aqua who waved.

"Nice to meet you Cloud," Aqua replied and Cloud nodded back.

"Hi…" Cloud said quietly, there still seemed to be some uncertainty and loneliness in his eyes.

"So Cloud, how did you even end up here? What has happened since last we saw each other?" Zack asked.

Cloud shifted his eyes, looking off to the side. He sighed a little, "There is a lot to explain…"

* * *

Well there is the end of that long chapter after the long wait to get to this point. So, a bit of an update. There will not be another chapter able to be done until my co-author is back, but we will get the next one done asap. So, in the meantime, I want to give a shoutout to **Riku Kingdom Hearts** for working with me on this, so check out their stories in the meantime (there are many of them). Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and if you liked it, let us know. Until next time!


	8. Chapter 8

Hello again and welcome back to the next part of this story, co-written by my good friend **RikuKingdomHearts**. We were able to get this much of the story done, after a few late nights. Lol. Anyways, thanks to all of you for keeping up with the story so far. Let's get to it!

* * *

 _Cloud shifted his eyes, looking off to the side. He sighed a little, "There is a lot to explain…"_

Zack could see the look in Cloud's eyes. He could tell that Cloud did not seem to eager to talk about the events that happened. Zack placed a hand on Cloud's shoulder, "Hey, it's okay if you don't want to talk about it now."

Cloud shook his head. "No… It's alright. It's just been a while since I've really talk to anyone about it…"

Zack could see the loneliness and sadness in Cloud's eyes again. Just what had happened over all the time since he was gone. Though one question came to Zack before Cloud could say anything more. "How many years had it been since you last saw me?"

"Ten years…" Cloud replied as he lowered his head.

Zack felt his heart sink at those words. Ten years… he had been gone for ten whole years. He had left Cloud alone for all that time. Guilt started to eat away at him even though he knew it wasn't his fault he had ended up in the Realm of Darkness. But he just couldn't help but feel guilty for leaving his brother for so long. He couldn't even began to imagine what it must have been like for Cloud over all those years.

"That means it's been eleven years for me in this place," Aqua said, speaking up.

Zack and Cloud looked over at Aqua. "What do you mean?" Zack asked.

"When I encountered Mickey a while back, he had told me it had been ten years since I last saw him. You were thrown into this realm a year after me. And now Cloud shows up and it's been ten years after you came here. So… eleven years now…" Aqua finished her words with a heavy sigh.

"It's okay Aqua. I know we will find a way to get out of here. You'll see," Zack said as he smiled his confident smile.

Aqua smiled back. "Thanks Zack."

Zack then turned his attention back to Cloud, who was now staring down at the ground. "Cloud, are you ready to talk about it then?"

Cloud slowly nodded, but his eyes did not move away from the ground. "Yeah…"

Aqua hummed thoughtfully before she stood up. "I feel it would be best if I let you two brothers have some time alone right now. I'll stay near and watch out for Heartless, okay?"

Zack nodded. "Thank you Aqua."

After that Aqua got up and walked a distance away, still staying close enough though. Zack's sighed slightly as he turned his attention back to Cloud. His thoughts wavered to what information he had just received. " _Ten years...I...can't even think what to say anymore."_ He didn't know what all had happened during that time, or what had happened to Cloud. He had to know.

Zack stumbled over his words as he tried to speak.

"Cloud, I...well, you see...it's…" he staggered as he just couldn't get the right words out. "...I'm sorry." He muttered those words with his head hung low, as if embarrassed to even look his brother in the face after all that had transpired.

Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder, and as he peered upward, he saw Cloud staring at him. His cold, lonely eyes were piercing him, which caused Zack to worry for a moment. Cloud seemed to be like how he was when he was young, with him being quiet and distant. But Zack did not have a lot of time to focus on his as Cloud finally spoke up.

"Look, Zack...it's alright. The last few years have been rough to say the least, but it's not your fault. I thought...no... I had been lost, to the darkness of my own heart…"

"Cloud…" Zack interrupted as he looked at Cloud with worrisome eyes. "What happened though? Why did you believe that me ending up here was your fault?"

"I did think that for a while. But Sephiroth had played tricks on me. It was his fault. He had devised and tricked me into believing things like that," Cloud replied.

Zack furrowed his brows. "So it was Sephiroth's fault! The liar! I still can't understand or believe he would do something like that…"

"It's okay… It wasn't all bad. I did have some friends over the years. Aerith and Tifa… and a few others. I was still... on my own for the most part. I was trying to deal with Sephiroth and everything. But, I met this boy one day. He was full of light, and I found a way to start getting back to where I needed to be."

Zack looked at Cloud with a look of concern but also happiness as a tear streamed down his face. He was happy to see Cloud again, and even if he wasn't the bright boy he once knew, Zack was sure they could reforge their bond.

But then, for a single moment, a selfish thought slipped into his mind.

Cloud was no longer the happy energetic boy he was familiar with. Cloud was now older and distant all over again. Zack found himself secretly wishing Cloud was still that young, happy boy he had last known. He felt his heart sting as he wished he could see the young smiling face of his little brother again. For a single second he desperately wanted to see his little brother… as his little brother again. He wanted to be able to wrap his arms around the little boy who always use to look up to him with big excited eyes. But he knew that wouldn't happen. He knew what had happened could not be changed. Cloud was now 10 years older. He was now a young adult. The young Cloud that Zack had known was now gone. But that didn't stop Zack from wanting to be there for his brother again.

He placed his hand on Cloud's shoulder. "You know, things didn't turn out the best for any of us. But...Cloud, I'm proud of you. You weathered this storm, and you've become quite the man...maybe even better than me," Zack said jokingly as he grinned slightly.

Cloud looked at him with a curious glance. His mind went back to the past, when the two of them were growing up and playing together. The look Zack had on his face...was the same one that he wore back then. Cloud smiled ever so slightly back at him and spoke.

"Heh, thanks...Zack. But, I'm not better than you. You've been trapped in this hell for all of these years, yet you still maintained yourself and who you are. As for me...I lost myself to the darkness for so long. Had it not been for that boy...I'm not sure where I'd be…" Cloud trailed off, not wanting to think about those possibilities any longer.

Zack opened his eyes again to once again look upon Cloud's face once more, and sensed the apprehensiveness in his voice. It was written all over his face as well. Zack spoke up to him.

"Well, I'm glad you're here now, and we're together again. Hey, once we get out of here, tell me all about it sometime," Zack said reassuringly as he had a slight grin.

With that small gesture, Cloud eased his mind of those perilous thoughts.

Aqua walked a little closer after a moment. She couldn't help but overhear what Cloud had said before and now was wondering about something.

"Wait, you said you met a boy? His name wouldn't happen to be Sora would it?" Aqua asked curiously.

Cloud turned his attention from Zack to Aqua as he looked at her bluntly. "Yes, that's his name. So you knew him then?"

"No I never met him, but I knew of him...from other people. He is a keyblade wielder like myself," Aqua trailed off, thinking about Sora for the first time in a long time.

"I see...well, I will say that he reminded me a lot of Zack here. He was always so cheery and thought he could take on anybody. Though he could be a bit reckless at times," Cloud said, a small grin coming to his face as if he wanted to tease Zack.

Aqua began to chuckle a bit at his remark as Zack flushed a bit as he tried to defend himself.

"Hey! I'm not always like that...Ah, nevermind." Zack pouted slightly at Cloud's remarks, reacting as if he were a child.

But soon Zack gave into it as well, and the three of them had a good laugh. It felt so odd, the laughing, seeing as lately there had not been a reason to do so. But it also felt right.

After that brief moment, Zack spoke out to them. "Well, for now I guess we should keep trying to find a way out. Hopefully we can find some way," he said as he stood up, motioning the two to come along with him.

"So you're looking for the way out too huh? I've been looking myself, but have found nothing," Cloud said to them with a serious tone. "I know where Sephiroth and I entered this place after our battle. Even though I don't remember how we got here, I remember where it was. Maybe you can find something that I couldn't. Follow me."

Zack and Aqua looked at each other as Cloud walked past them. They then began to follow the blond haired soldier as they wondered what would await them on their journey there.

They began their long trek through the Realm of Darkness together, Cloud leading the way while Zack and Aqua walked side by side right behind him. Zack stared at Cloud from the back for a little while as he thought about just the kind of man that Cloud had become. He was leading them without fear, and with purpose, and for one of the first times ever, Zack could tell that Cloud was not afraid. He smiled brightly as he walked a bit more briskly. As he caught up to Cloud, he threw his arm around his neck and walked by his side for a moment.

Cloud shot a glance his way as he felt the weight of Zack's arm upon him. He tensed up for a moment, but then calmed down almost just as quickly.

"You alright Cloud? You seemed a bit tense there for a moment."

"Ah, it's, nothing. I'm, just not used to all of this is all."

"Well, you better get used to it, cause I'm not going anywhere this time. Your big bro is here now, so you can get your head out of the...clouds," Zack grinned as he joked.

Walking only slightly behind them, Aqua heard this and burst out laughing. Even though the joke was so bad, it was a nice moment of joy, which is something they had not too much of while being in this dark realm. Cloud tensed up again at that comment, embarrassed at the comment that Zack had made. Zack removed his arm from Cloud's neck and allowed him to just continue at his own pace, as he was satisfied with teasing his little brother for now.

The trio continued on their walk for what seemed like a span of a few hours. However, something just didn't look quite right. Cloud stopped walking, which caused Zack and Aqua to catch up with him. He glanced around the area briefly as he noticed something strange. The large, creepy tree that was to the right of them was the same one they had passed a while back. Aqua and Zack both had noticed this as well as Zack walked over to Cloud.

"You're not quite sure where you're headed are you?"

Cloud peered down to the side. "It would seem that way. I thought I remembered the way, but...everything just looks the same here…"

"It's fine," Aqua stated, speaking over him as he had trailed off his words. "The Realm of Darkness is quite vast, and things run together if you're not used to them. Also, it can play tricks on your mind if you are not used to it already. Maybe you can tell us what you remember seeing when you came into this place."

Cloud thought hard as he closed his eyes and visualized what he had seen back then.

"The ground around me was soft. It was like a coastline area, with arches of rocks going over the water. It was like an ocean there too."

"An ocean...I think I know the area you are talking about," Aqua interjected.

Zack and Cloud looked at her strangely, the latter being the first to comment. "So, you have been to this place before then?"

Aqua promptly responded, "Yes, I have. That is where I ended up for the longest time. And it's where I learned about Sora from a man, who had also been trapped here. He couldn't remember much about himself though. But I know where we are now, and the way we need to go to get there."

"Well, I guess being in the Realm of Darkness so long at least has helped us learn which way to go," Zack retorted in a playful manner as he rubbed his head.

Aqua sighed as she looked at him. "Well, I guess we should get going then."

This time, Aqua led the way forward, with Zack and Cloud following behind just in case any heartless decided to show up. The three of them continued on their renewed journey without much difficulty. Surprisingly, no heartless had shown up yet, but that wasn't too unusual considering the area upon which they were coming.

After what seemed like even more hours of walking, the landscape seemed to change a bit as they noticed a faint glimmer of light. They walked forward past some monstrous rock formations before reaching the shore Cloud had remembered. The first thing that was noticeable was the large body of water that laid before them. There were arches of deformed rocks that stretched across the beach-like area. The light that shown in front of them looked like a moon or a sun shape, it's light casting shadows from the rocks.

"According to the man, this area is on the precipice of the Realm of Darkness and the In Between. I've...never looked myself, but I suppose that a way out might be found here," Aqua said to them briefly.

Zack walked around for a bit before coming up to Cloud and Aqua, putting an arm around each of them. "Well, let's start trying to find some clues to get out then."

* * *

That's the end of that chapter now. This one was a bit shorter, but I hope you guys enjoyed it nonetheless. We have several ideas planned for the next few parts of the story too, so hopefully that can happen soon. Again, thank you all so much for reading this story. If you liked it let us know. Until the next time!


	9. Chapter 9

Hello again and welcome back to the next part of this story, co-written by my good friend **RikuKingdomHearts**. It's been a while and writer's block and life kinda happened for a bit, but we were finally able to get this next part done. Thanks for all of you that keep up with it. Without further ado, let's get to it!

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

The newly formed trio walked onward for a while around the area as they each split off to different sides of the coastline. None of them really knew what they were searching for, but they knew there had to exist a way to get out of the Realm of Darkness. They all searched around the area for any indications that there was a way.

Time passed by slowly, or at least it seemed slow to them. What felt like hours could have only been minutes, or what felt like minutes could have been many hours. There was no way to tell in the Realm of Darkness, in which the flow of time was much different. After exhausting their searching, Zack and Cloud soon re-joined with each other to see if they could find anything together. They glanced over and saw that Aqua was still persistent in her examination of the area as she used her magic quite well to attempt to unveil any secrets of the place.

"She's really working hard at this, but I doubt now there's anything here," Cloud stated coldy.

Zack stepped back a bit, shocked by what he had heard. "Aw, come on. Have a bit of faith. I'm sure that if anyone can find something then she will."

"Sure...I guess. I would prefer to get out of here, because I can feel the darkness trying to draw me back in. But I know best of all how the darkness works. It's not something easily escaped."

Zack developed a bit of a frown on his face, and he spoke with a more serious tone.

"Listen Cloud. I know about the darkness as well. Don't let it get you down."

Cloud sighed a bit. "...Yet we still haven't found anything yet. I'm beginning to wonder…"

Zack reached his hands up and firmly planted them on Cloud's shoulders as he stared him directly in the eyes. Cloud could see his pristine blue pupils looking directly into his being with such an intent that he knew something was up.

"I have been here for ten years, but I haven't given up yet. I always thought there was a way out, granted I have had my fair share of stumbles. We all do. But you have to get back up, brush off the dust, and keep going. This place plays tricks with your mind too, so be careful."

Cloud closed his eyes and cracked a small smile. As much as Zack had changed, he hadn't really changed at all. He was still the ball of positive mental attitude that he knew him as all those years ago. It made him breath a bit of a sigh of relief at knowing that he was with his big brother again.

Upon seeing the change in Cloud's demeanor, Zack managed a smile back at him.

"Good, it seems you understand. Now, seeing as how we can't really do anything right now, we just have to wait on Aqua."

Zack started doing squats randomly, just as a way to pass the time in this place that really didn't have any. It was quite ironic. As he continued to do his routine exercises, Cloud started walking off away from him after their little talk. After a brief while, Zack saw Cloud had stopped all motion and was just staring off into the distance. Or, that's what he thought Cloud was doing. Zack halted his actions to approach Cloud from the left side, only to notice that he was instead staring at Aqua. Zack nudged his brother in the side sharply as a way to get his attention.

"Oh, hey, what is it?" Cloud asked curiously of his black-haired mentor.

"You're wondering about how she's been here without succumbing to the darkness right? I may have been here as well, but even I fell a couple of times. But she...she didn't. Go ask her. I'll keep looking around here for something," Zack finished as he gave his little brother a smile.

Cloud didn't return the smile yet, as he was still trying to relearn what it meant to have a feeling such as that. Instead, he gave a head nod and walked further away from Zack and closer towards Aqua. As he moved closer towards her, he lost himself in a thought.

" _She's been here all this time, and hasn't fallen yet. I need to know how to fight this."_

Aqua was still searching for anything she could find that would help them to find a way out of the darkness. Specializing in magic spells was proving to be quite useful in determining this too, even though she had not really found a clue yet. However, she was not going to give up. She knew that she couldn't, especially since Zack and Cloud were counting on her help to get out as well. Suddenly, she heard some rustling of feet behind her and quickly turned on the spot, ready to strike. However, it was only Cloud there, but he never even budget.

"Oh, sorry about that Cloud. I'm still just so used to being on my own and not used to people behind me unless it's the Heartless."

"It's fine. You didn't startle me. I'm used to things like that anyways."

Aqua looked relieved. "That's alright then. But, is there something that you were needing?"

Cloud looked down, as he was slightly concerned with what he wanted to ask, but he knew he had to do it.

"You...you've been here for a long time. And the darkness hasn't taken you, and you've never fallen either. Yet just from being here for a short time, it's already starting to try to take me. How do you do it? I need to know. Sora may have shown me the light, but it doesn't erase all that has happened though."

Aqua was a bit shocked at what she had just heard from Cloud, but at the same time, she knew that if she could help him then it would all be for the better. She hung her head a bit though, as she knew that things were not just as clear cut as Cloud had made them out to be. She was trying to think of how to explain things to him about the darkness and it's corrupting power.

Cloud noticed the slight hesitation in Aqua's form and decided that it might have been a sensitive subject for her.

"If you don't care to talk about it, then don't worry about it Aqua."

Aqua finally looked up and over to him. "No no, it's fine. It's just...not that easy to explain…"

Her words trailed off as she composed her thoughts quickly to try and briefly explain it.

"The darkness, has even tempted me, and I almost fell to it. So, I'm not entirely faultless. I think what really drove me was my desire to see my friends again, and that is still what is driving me. I can't fall. For their sake," Aqua stated bluntly to the messy haired young man.

Cloud just stared at her. "So there's nothing I can do then...about the darkness…"

"No, there is always a way. I found mine. You just have to find yours. Maybe it's something that you cling to, a hope, a dream, or maybe even a person. It's hard, but don't give up," she finished, the determination on her face rang true with the words that were just spoken.

Cloud felt it in the pit of his stomach what that hope was...that light. The one that had been with him since the beginning. He did want to see her again one day. He curtly smiled in a way that only she could make him. He looked up slightly as he continued to hold a slight grin.

Zack happened to look over and saw this, and he knew what Cloud was thinking. This was the perfect opportunity for Zack to tease him again as he walked over and smacked his shoulder.

"Hey Cloud. Daydreaming about Tifa again aren't you? Haha."

"What, no, that's not it...it, doesn't matter right now," Cloud trailed off as he tried to jerk away from Zack. He then turned to Aqua to quietly speak to her. "I guess you're right. Thanks, Aqua."

Aqua chuckled mildly at his flustered look after Zack's comment before she finally answered.

"Anything to help a friend. But, we can talk more about that later though. For now, we need to focus on finding a way out of here. Then we can all get back to the light that we so desire."

With that statement the three of them formed back together to continue their search for something that would help them out of that dark and dreary place. After another long while on their search, the three finally were out of ideas. None of them knew what to do to try and get out. None of them wanted to think it was hopeless, but it was starting to appear to be just that. Even Aqua had began to be dragged down by not being able to find a way yet. However, there was a faint spark of hope that rang out above the feeling of despair that filled the void.

"Let's not give up yet! What if...it's our inner light that is needed?" Zack finally said.

Aqua and Cloud both turned to him in response to what he said.

"What do you mean Zack?" Aqua asked curiously as Cloud just listened.

Zack responded in kind. "The hope that we all have, to get back to the ones we miss, the places we miss...if that hope could turn into a pathway out. I mean, weirder things have happened."

Cloud was a bit intrigued to see if this would help with the darkness, while Aqua continued.

"Hmm...that might could be possible. It's worth a shot to see. Maybe we could just all join together and summon our light from within...a light in the darkness," Aqua suggested to them.

Zack looked hopeful at her response. "Then let's try it. Come on Cloud. You wanna get rid of all that darkness right? Here's a chance to maybe do that. We have nothing to lose at this point!"

The three of them then gathered around and formed a circle by interlocking hands. None of them were quite sure what they were doing, but they knew that they had to try something. As they stood there, the trio summoned up the hope that they had in their hearts, in hopes that by somehow channeling it that something would happen to help them get out. They all waited for a long period of time, wondering if anything would happen. However, there was just nothing.

Finally, the three of them just relaxed after their efforts seemed in vain. None of them wanted to give up the hope that they had, but there seemed to be no way left to try in order to escape. They just sat down together onto the coast area and looked out onto the water, thinking of days long past. Zack thought about just wanting to get out of there, and trying to find their home again. Meanwhile, Cloud and Aqua both thought back to the people they had left behind and how much they wanted to see them again. It was a somber though, but it was the only thing that seemed to keep them going.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light as they were all blinded by it. Instinctively, they all shielded their eyes, especially since being in the Realm of Darkness had made them adjust to the absence of light.

"What in the world is that?" Aqua questioned immediately, squinting her eyes as she tried to make out what it was that had appeared before them.

Zack replied shortly after. "I'm not sure, but whatever it is is brighter than anything I've seen before. You don't think it could be…"

After a few moments, the light seemed to simmer down. Though, maybe it was just them adjusting to the light that was now dancing upon their retinas. Once they were able to uncover their eyes, what they saw before them was something that none of them could explain, but it was like they all knew exactly what they were looking at.

"A way out!" the three of them exclaimed in unison, their excitement echoing through the darkness.

* * *

Alright so that wraps up yet another chapter of this story. Things are starting to come to a good climax and we already have the next parts planned, but just have to write them out. This was a much shorter chapter, but it's what we have right now. Anyways, I hope that you guys enjoyed that little bit there, and let us know if you did. Until the next time!


	10. Chapter 10

Alright, so I am back with **RikuKingdomHearts** to bring you guys the next chapter in this story. We have been working hard on it and got another chapter done cause the ideas just started flowing. Again, thanks for keeping up with the story so far. Things are really starting to pick up, so let's not waste any more time and get started with it!

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

Zack was the first one that jumped to his feet. Normally he would have just ran towards the portal, but his time there in the darkness had shown him that it does like to play tricks with one's mind. Aqua seemed to have the same thought as she approached him from the side, and gave him a sideways glance, indicating that they should take things slowly.

However, Cloud rushed passed them to try and approach the portal. He just wanted to go back. Even though he had not been there as long, he could feel the darkness eating away at him.

"Cloud, stop! We don't know exactly if it is a way out yet," Zack cried out to him.

But Cloud was not stopping. He had to see for himself if this was really a way out. Just as soon he got near it though, bubbles of darkness started to appear before him and also behind him. The Heartless were back, and it couldn't have been at a worst time. Cloud grabbed the sword from his back and he began to fight them one by one.

Zack grabbed his sword and Aqua summoned her keyblade as they ran forward to assist Cloud in taking out the Heartless as quickly as possible. There weren't as many Heartless as there were before, but the timing of them showing up was peculiar, which Aqua had noticed.

"You know, the way the Heartless showed up right after the light appeared...it's like they know what it is and are drawn to it. So...maybe it is a way back to the light after all," Aqua stated.

Zack glanced at Aqua as they were running forward. "That makes a lot of sense, I bet that's it then. Let's take all of these out and then we can get out of here."

The two of them finally reached Cloud, and the three of them stood back to back in a circular formation as they prepared to take on the heartless once again. Hopefully, this would be the last time they had to do so. They waited for the heartless to come at them as they slowly started to fight the Heartless for what seemed to be the last time.

After a long period of fighting, all of the Heartless had been dispatched. The three of them had finally gotten a chance to catch their breath as they were slightly exhausted from that fight. But now, the battle was over. They briefly told Cloud what they surmised about the door of light that had appeared, and the three of them started to make their way towards it.

As they approached where the door of light was, they felt a familiar darkness near them. They all looked around to see where it was coming from, and Cloud was the first one to react. He drew his sword immediately before Aqua and Zack had a chance.

"You! Why are you back again?!" Cloud exclaimed as Zack and Aqua turned towards him.

It was Sephiroth. He was back once again, and the darkness was exuding from him more so than before. Though, he still looked slightly worn from the last battle that he had with Zack. Cloud looked on intensely at Sephiroth as Zack and Aqua slightly sighed. They had just found a way out and he somehow showed up at the worst time. But the worrisome thoughts entered Zack's mind. Knowing Sephiroth, there had to be some form of plan. He knew how cunning that his former friend and mentor was, so there must be some certain reason that he was there.

"My my, look at who I found again. Zack, what good timing this is. As you know we were not finished from before," Sephiroth finally spoke up, making his intentions known to the entire party with a sinister glare.

Zack gave him a deadpan look, as if he had grown tired of seeing the silver-haired man so often.

"Yea I guess you're right. I wasn't finished beating you yet. I know you won't listen to reason, so I guess we'll just have to fight. I won't forgive you. Especially after what you did to Cloud."

Zack held his sword out towards Sephiroth as he finished his statement. He wore a most serious look that Cloud nor Aqua had seen. It seemed that he had finally decided that there was no choice but to completely remove Sephiroth from the equation. Zack knew what he had to do. He had to kill Sephiroth.

However, his moment of concentration was broke abruptly as Sephiroth started to chuckle, eventually escalating into laughter before he finally composed himself to speak again.

"That's quite the look you have there. That look doesn't suit you though. Do you hate me?" Sephiroth asked with a slight chuckle, as if he found that fact funny. "You can use the darkness like you did before to fuel that hate. But...even then, I don't think that you can actually beat me."

"Just shut up!" Cloud suddenly shouted, anger obvious in his voice. "I'm tired of your games Sephiroth. You've tried to control me for over ten years of my life. This time, I won't give you that chance. We'll stop once and for all...together." Cloud concluded his words as he gave a side glance to Zack.

Zack just gave him a slight nod, knowing that what Cloud had said was right. It had all been building until this moment, and finally they would be able to make things right. All the suffering. All the pain. All the waiting. It would finally all end at this last obstacle that was Sephiroth. They could all finally go back to the Realm of Light together.

Of course, Aqua was along for the ride here, and Zack knew that she would not stand idly by and do nothing. So he turned to her as well and gave her a slight nod. She gave the same gesture in return, and Zack knew that the three of them were all of the same mind.

"It's over Sephiroth. We will put a stop to you once and for all," Zack stated bluntly.

Sephiroth just started laughing before he spoke up again.

"Your idle threats mean nothing compared to all of the power I possess now. All of this," he said as he stretched out his arms, "is under my command…"

As he trailed off his words, darkness started to form in a radius around him. Suddenly, droves of Heartless started to rise up out of the darkness. They appeared to be in greater number than just a few moments previously. That was going to make this process a little more taxing. Sephiroth stood back and watched as the Heartless started to approach the three heroes.

"See? The Heartless do my bidding and obey me. So, I'll give you all a little gift. How would you like… despair?" His cold voice echoed on that last word as he raised his hands and pointed them towards the trio.

The Heartless began to swarm them more than before, as they stood like a wall and ready to defend themselves until the end.

* * *

After another exhausting battle, Zack, Cloud, and Aqua all were breathing heavily from the tiredness. The Heartless were not tough to defeat, but so many of them at one time caused their stamina to drain rapidly. Once Zack finally caught his breath a bit, he peered his head upward to examine the aftermath. The Heartless were all gone now, but Sephiroth was still standing in the distance, slowly analyzing the trio as they stood there. He became slightly tense, knowing that they would probably not stand much of a chance in this tired condition. Aqua could sense the tension in his body language as she then tried to address the situation.

"Hey Zack, you seem a bit worried about something."

"Oh, it's...it's nothing. Just...something doesn't feel quite right," he responded to her.

"You know, if he's just standing there, then we could probably use this opportunity to try and escape. Though, I do find it odd that..."

"...He is seemingly waiting for us to try and go through the portal right? It's as if he knows something is up," Zack said as he finished Aqua's sentence for her.

Cloud looked over at Zack, and then over at Sephiroth. "It doesn't surprise me that he would have something up his sleeve. But we should try to get away while we have the chance. As much as I want to finish him...I can't let this pass me by."

Zack nodded in agreement as the three of them got closer to the portal to attempt to see what it was. All three of them moved closer and closer to the portal of light, but as they did Zack kept looking behind them. He kept looking back at Sephiroth, keeping his concern level high.

Sephiroth was still standing back there. He had not moved an inch from what it seemed. And it was making Zack feel more and more unsettled. He knew Sephiroth had always been a patient man… but this was something else. Though they had gotten farther away from him, Zack could have swore Sephiroth still held a sinister grin across his face as he watched them. Something was clearly wrong… or eve Sephiroth had more planned that what it seemed. Zack couldn't get the unsettling thoughts out of his head.

They were just about to reach the portal when Zack stopped and fully turned around. He stared back at Sephiroth, who still remained perfectly still. Zack slowly took in deep breaths as he tried to analyze the situation. He knew that Sephiroth had to be waiting for something, and Zack figured he knew what it was.

By this point Aqua and Cloud noticed Zack was no longer walking with them. The turned around to see him stared back at Sephiroth. It almost looked as if the two were locked in a long distance stare. Not one of them moving an inch.

Aqua took a step closer, trying to understand what Zack might have been thinking. "Zack?..."

"Just go. Both of you."

Cloud and Aqua's eyes widened as they stared at Zack, who still had his back facing to them. Not only did his blunt and direct words surprise them, but it was also the tone of his voice. It was the same dead-set serious tone that he had use before they fought the Heartless Sephiroth had summoned.

"What?" Aqua asked.

Zack finally turned around to face them finally, just as his tone of voice as serious, so was his face. "I said go. You guys have to go through the portal and quickly."

Cloud shook his head, started to realize what Zack was inferring by his words. "No Zack. You're coming with us. I know how you feel about Sephiroth, but let's just leave now."

"No, if all of us leave, then Sephiroth will most likely follow," Zack said as he gripped the handle of his sword tightly. "Someone needs to prevent him from doing that."

"Zack you shouldn't have-" Aqua started to say, but Zack was quick to cut her off.

"No. I've got to stay back. I won't let Sephiroth leave this place. I won't let him go back to the Realm of Light. But you two need to go."

Cloud stared at his brother. He saw the seriousness in his face and knew Zack probably wouldn't give up on his plan. And that made Cloud all the more worried. "I won't leave you Zack. If you won't come with us… then we'll stay and fight with you."

"No Cloud!" Zack shouted, raising his voice slightly. He closed his eyes and he turned his head away. He couldn't bare to look at Cloud's face much longer or he might have been tempted to change his mind. "I want you two to go back. Please. This is my choice… and I want to stick with it."

Cloud opened his mouth to protest again, but he couldn't find the words he wanted to say. He saw how determined and serious Zack was. And he also was suspicious of Sephiroth this entire time, who still stood there watching them in the distance.

Cloud let out a long exhale. He knew once Zack made up his mind, there was no changing it. As much as he didn't want Zack to do this… he knew Zack wasn't going to give up on it. "Well… if you are going to fight Sephiroth, might as well use this." Cloud said as he held out his sword.

Zack finally looked back at Cloud and took hold of the sword, and gave his old, worn down one to Cloud to hold on to. Zack smiled slightly as he looked over the newer, larger, sword. "Thanks Cloud."

"If…You are going to stay…" Aqua said, finally speaking up again. "Might as well be at full strength." Aqua raised her keyblade over Zack and with the little bit of magic she had left, she was able to cast her healing spell. She also did not want Zack to stay behind, but after all they had been through she knew Zack was doing what he thought was the right thing.

Zack now turned towards Aqua and continued to hold his smile. "Thank you Aqua."

Zack quickly turned around to see if Sephiroth had done anything else. But he still was waiting there patiently. Zack almost was surprised how calm Sephiroth was being about all of this, but after everything that happened he also didn't expect anything less from the man. Now when he turned back towards Cloud and Aqua, he finally felt the heavy sinking feeling in his chest.

Zack did he best as he tried to shake off those feelings. "Go guys. I got this."

Cloud and Aqua took a brief moment to exchange worried glances with each other, but they both knew there was no point in trying to argue. Slowly the two turned around and started to move closer to the light again. It started to grow brighter and brighter the closer they got to it.

"Wait!" Zack called out for a moment. Both Aqua and Cloud turned around, wondering what else Zack had to say.

Without any words Zack walked up to Cloud. He gave him a quick smile before throwing his arms around Cloud. "Stay strong Cloud."

Then Zack looked over at Aqua. He took a few steps closer to her until he was directly in front of her. Aqua waited a moment, expecting Zack to say something to her. But to her surprise that wasn't what happened.

Instead Zack wrapped one arm behind Aqua and pulled her closer and he leaned his face in towards hers. Zack pressed his lips gentle against Aqua, surprising her completely by his sudden action.

It only lasted a few second, but when Zack pulled away, there was a smile on his face. Aqua on the other hand could feel the blood rushing to her face, she had no idea what to even say.

Zack slowly started to turn around as he kept eye contact with Aqua. "Once this is all over, I'll find a way back to you guys! You still owe me that date Aqua, don't forget about that!" Zack shouted to the two of them as he started to run back towards Sephiroth.

As he did, it seemed Sephiroth was finished waiting around as he raised his hand and summon large Heartless around him. Zack did not once look back, but he could tell that Cloud and Aqua must have gone through the portal as the bright light behind him disappeared.

Now it was just him and Sephiroth. Neither of them could leave now, and Zack was determined to make sure Sephiroth would not find any other way out. Now using Cloud's sword, Zack sliced through the Heartless that charged at him until he made his way closer to Sephiroth. Easily swinging the sword around, he was able to take out all the Heartless that had been summoned. Now the two men stared intently at each other, the tension rising in the atmosphere around them. Sephiroth smiled curtly at Zack, deciding that he would find joy in taking him out himself. Zack felt the same way, but for a completely different reason. There were no more words that needed to be said between the two men as they knew each other so well. In an instant, they were at each others' faces, their swords clashing together in a brilliant flash that briefly illuminated the world around them. Finally, they could finish what they started all those years ago.

* * *

And that's another chapter in the books. There was quite the bit of angst and feels that this chapter brought there at the end, but that was the plan from a while back. We have some more ideas in store of course on where to take this story, so hopefully we will be able to get the next one to you all soon. I hope that you all enjoy reading it, and let us know if you do. We appreciate the support. As always, until the next time!


	11. Chapter 11

Okay so welcome back to the very next chapter in this story, with my co-author **RikuKingdomHearts.** This chapter took some good planning and some time but now it's finally ready. I'm thankful for all of you who continue to keep up with this story. Also, this chapter is longer than all the others so prepare for a good read. Let's get to it!

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

" _Once this is all over, I'll find a way back to you guys! You still owe me that date Aqua, don't forget about that!" Zack shouted to the two of them as he started to run back towards Sephiroth._

Cloud and Aqua stared with wide eyes as they watched Zack run closer and closer to Sephiroth. Everything was happening too quickly to process and there didn't seem like a lot of time to think things through. The light around them was growing brighter, as they could see Heartless rising up from the ground in the far distance. Heartless were swarmping in front of Sephiroth now and Zack was running directly towards them.

Aqua had almost thought she had the strength to call out to Zack finally, but the light shined brighter than before and she immediately covered her eyes. When the light around her finally faded away, she slowly opened her eyes to try and see the scenery around her. She had to blink a few times as the brightness of the realm of light was almost too much for her own eyes.

Aqua still couldn't get her thoughts off Zack though. Everything had happened to quickly, but now it felt like she had all the time in the world to process it. She still couldn't believe what had happened though she had seen it right in front of her. Zack so casually running right into danger with a confident, cheerful smile on his face. It was something that he would do, but the thing he had done just seconds before still left Aqua's heart heavy.

Aqua closed her eyes as she remember the moment. The brief moment of Zack showing his feelings that he had for her… how could she even try to process that calmly? He had does it all so calmly with a smile on his face, like what he was about to do right after didn't matter. Aqua's vision blurred as she placed a hand on her face. She stared down at the ground as her thoughts continued to focus on Zack.

Aqua tried her best to hold back her emotions, but it wasn't working. She could feel the tears streaming down her face now. She would have lost herself in her own thoughts about Zack if a stifled cry didn't draw her back into reality.

Aqua turned and looked next to her. She had almost forgotten about Cloud. He was down on his knees with his head buried in his hands. Aqua's heart felt even heavier now as she heard Cloud's mournful cries. Aqua kneeled down next to Cloud and placed a hand on his shoulder. She wanted to say something to him, but she knew she was not strong enough yet to bring forth any words.

"I… I lost him again," Cloud mumbled. His voice was quiet and already rough sounding from his sobs. "I lost my brother again…"

Aqua moved her arm from Cloud's shoulder to around him. She wrapped her other arm around him as well as she finally thought of something to say. "Don't say that… We haven't lost him. He's just...He…Just don't think that."

"But I lost him again… Ten years ago I watched him disappear in front of my eyes… and now it's happened all over again," Cloud replied as he shuddered.

Aqua shook her head. "We'll find him. Don't worry Cloud… Everything… Everything will be all right." Aqua spoke these words aloud, not only to try and help Cloud calm down, but also to try and reassure herself. But even with that, she still couldn't shake off the feeling that they had left Zack behind. That he had _chosen_ to stay behind. Neither of them did anything to try and stop him… they only had stood and watched.

Aqua suddenly felt Cloud's arms around her. She focused her attention back to him to see that he was looking at her. Sadness and loneliness swirled around in his eyes. "H-How do you know though? We… We didn't do anything to try and stop him. How do you know that he is okay? I just don't know… Being torn from him right after reuniting… I'm just afraid I won't see him again…"

Aqua bit her lip. Again she couldn't think of any words to say. She wanted to try to cheer Cloud up, she could see how distressed he was about the entire situation. But she just didn't know what to say. She couldn't even think of ways to reassure herself about the situation. Aqua closed her eyes as she let out a long sigh. Though while her eyes were closed, images of Zack came from her memories. The memories of all the moments she had shared with Zack, from the first time at the Colosseum all the way to being in the Realm of Darkness. Every cheerful smile he gave came rushing back to her mind all at once.

Aqua smiled as she opened her eyes again. "Zack wants us to be strong, remember? He may have stayed back there, but he did that so we could escape. We can't let him down after he did all that for us."

Cloud slowly nodded as he pulled away from his hug with Aqua. He let out a sigh as he wiped away his tears. "Yeah… You're right. That's always what Zack liked to do. Always putting on a smile and doing what he can to protect others. I guess… he…" Cloud trailed off as a small smile formed on his face.

"He really is a hero," Aqua finished.

* * *

Zack and Sephiroth stayed there for the longest time, their swords locked against each other tightly as they continued to glare intently at one another. Both of them were focused now on defeating each other, and they both wanted to get back to the realm of light. Of course, their reasons varied greatly, but the end goal was the same. They each tested and tried to overwhelm the other, but upon realizing that it was a stalemate, they each jumped back and prepared to go again.

The two rushed each other again and clashed swords not just once, but many times as clatters of steel could be heard echoing in the long dark. Each time the swords banged against each other was a reminder of their two opposing wills that could never acquiesce to the other as they were seemingly forever locked in a struggle for superiority. The two blades seemed to almost cry out as they continuously locked horns together. Neither man was willing to give in.

"So, Zack, why don't you just quit this now and do me a favor… Fall,"Sephiroth said with a menacing tone as he increased the pressure he held against Zack's sword.

However, Zack was determined to not give up. He had come too far now to quit.

"No! I will never give into you or to the darkness again. And I was not going to let you follow Cloud and Aqua out!" Zack screamed with intensity at him.

"Oh, so you knew what I was planning then? That's why you made this choice. Interesting…"

"Of course I knew. We've known each other for some time. You always seem to have some sort of plan. I was the only one who could stop you."

"Heh, so you think. Cloud would have been a much better-"

"Leave him out of this! You've done enough to him. This is between us. I will settle this...one way, or another."

"It seems you've resolved yourself then. Then let us commence this dance, Zack. I will make this place your grave.'

"Ha, that's what you think Sephiroth. I won't let you!"

Zack then summoned up some inner strength and firmly planted his foot into the ground, as he gripped the sword even tighter and brought it upward against the Masamune at such force that it caused Sephiroth to momentarily lose his hold on Zack. Upon seeing an opening, Zack kicked Sephiroth in the abdomen, shoving him away briefly as he righted himself.

"Hmm, impressive. It seems this will be quite the climactic battle. Come Zack."

Zack held out the sword, given to him by Cloud, in front of him in a vertical position as he closed his eyes. He thought about all of the people that he cared about. He thought about all of the memories that he had made, with or without them. He knew that he wanted to get back to them, but to do that, he had to stay here and overcome this final hurdle. He slowed down his breathing and brought his mind into a calmer state as he was then able to concentrate fully on the task at hand, which was to make sure that Sephiroth would be gone. He opened his eyes quickly, with a fire burning in them that showed his renewed confidence in himself. He lowered his sword slightly, and as he did, Sephiroth noticed the new look in his eyes.

Sephiroth looked on intently at Zack upon realizing that he was finally serious. He smiled.

Zack then brought his sword down to his side at an angle as he began to charge at Sephiroth. Upon seeing this, Sephiroth put himself on guard and raised his Masamune and blocked the heavy hit that Zack had just sent his way. Once again, the two swords grinded upon each other, sending screeches of it echoing through the realm of darkness.

The two men started exchanging blows repeatedly, the impact of their swords causing rippling effects around the area as the battle raged on for quite some time.

* * *

Zack slid backwards from Sephiroth after the long-haired man had overpowered him, but before he could regain his balance, Sephiroth had already closed in on him. Zack raised up his sword to shield himself, but Sephiroth already had a powerful swing in motion. His sword collided with Zack's and bounced it up out of the way as Zack lost his left handed grip on his sword. Zack's sword flung to the side quickly, still in his right arm, and hit the ground as the sudden weight in his right arm was unaccounted for. Before he had time to react, a sharp pain tore into him like nothing he had ever felt before. He grimaced in pain as he closed his eyes.

His shoulder was on fire with pain, and the only thing he could think about was making that pain disappear. After a few seconds, he finally opened his eyes and glanced to the left side and saw the Masamune lodged into his shoulder. It was a deep wound as Sephiroth's sword was buried into it so that the top could not be seen. He could see blood trickling down the blade and slowly dripping onto the ground. After finally having enough of that, he looked up at Sephiroth finally, who he noticed was standing there with a grin on his face.

"Does it hurt Zack? Here, allow me to remove it for you then," Sephiroth said slyly with a smile.

Sephiroth slowly slid the sword back and out of the wound, but made sure to take his time to inflict all of the pain possible. Zack felt the sword grinding against his bone as it was removed. He grunted heavily as he tried to bare the agony that he was feeling. Once the sword was finally out, he could feel his arm getting a bit more numb as the tendon felt torn completely. His arm dangled to the side, nothing more now than dead weight.

Zack tried to deal with the pain from his shoulder as he went to lift up his sword. He attempted to raise the large sword up with his one good arm, but it was proving to be quite heavy. Then he tried moving his left arm over to try to grab it, but the pain was too much, not to mention that he was slowly losing the feeling in that left arm. He finally thought and figured out a plan.

He started to rush forward, the large sword dragging against the ground. As he approached Sephiroth, he dipped the left side of his body down while at the same time pulling on the sword with all of his might from the right side. The sword came up and around in a horizontal slashing motion, but Sephiroth was easily able to parry it. Zack tried this method a few more times, but each attempt was in vain as Sephiroth blocked them effortlessly.

Sephiroth chuckled. "What's wrong Zack? Having a bit of trouble there?"

"Be quiet! I will find a way to beat you. I made a promise. And I intend to keep it, no matter how much it hurts."

Zack continued his efforts to try and hit Sephiroth, but to no avail. However, it seemed he was becoming use to the weight of the sword in his one arm as he was able to start swinging it much faster than before. That of course caused Sephiroth to dodge on the next swing as he was not expecting it. Zack was almost a bit surprised at being able to wield it with one hand, but it was just what he needed. With a sense of renewed confidence, Zack brought the fight to Sephiroth once again as they began to trade swings.

Zack's swings were becoming much faster and harder as he started to control his sword more easily with one hand. He was trying to get through to Sephiroth, but his strikes were constantly blocked. Zack decided to try and talk to Sephiroth once more, in hope it may help.

"Sephiroth...I won't let you get what you want. I will stop you and free you of the darkness."

Sephiroth's face changed a bit into a frown upon hearing Zack's comment. "Hmpf… You act as though I want to be freed. Laughable. I have been one with the darkness for years now. In case you don't remember, allow me to show you."

Sephiroth suddenly started to hum with dark energy and Zack noticed a slight increase in his power. Sephiroth pressured Zack harder with his sword as a grin finally returned to his face. Zack tried to push back, but it was proving to be difficult with just one arm. He put all of his might behind one final push against Sephiroth, when suddenly Sephiroth backed off.

The weight Zack put behind his sword drove him forward as his sword swung up and to the side. He saw for a brief moment that Sephiroth had taken a stance with his sword arched backward and in a lunging position. The next thing that happened was an immense pain in Zack's stomach. He winced and cried out in pain, trying to figure out what happened. When Zack finally opened his eyes, he saw it.

The sword was stuck in him, as blood started to slowly drip down the blade of the long sword. He felt the sword was all the way through him. It had pierced his body completely. The pain was as sharp as the blade that was driven inside of him, and not able to contain it any longer, he screamed at the amount of pain he was in.

Sephiroth just looked on with the calmest expression on his face as he opened his mouth to speak, with a cold smile still on his face. "You look just like your brother Cloud with this sword driven through you. It's a fitting look for you too. But don't worry, I'll be doing more of the same to him again once I'm out of here. We have unfinished business."

At that comment, Zack tried his best to ignore all of the pain that he was in, though his breathing was increasing rapidly. He was not going to let Sephiroth talk like that about Cloud. He knew that he had to do something to get free. He dropped his sword and slowly raised his good arm and grabbed the length of Sephiroth's sword. He knew how much it would hurt, but he inhaled sharply and gritted his teeth in preparation. Then, he attempted to pull it out in an effort to get free. He could feel the blade cut into his palm as blood dripped down his hand, staining his skin. He winced at the pain of it cutting him. He didn't' care about anything but getting that blade free at the moment.

"Oh, are you having trouble again? If you wanted the sword out again, why didn't you just ask?" Sephiroth questioned sarcastically as he yanked the sword backwards quickly from within Zack.

As the sword slid out, the pain became much worse with the wounds now more open and his stomach began to bleed much more as blood started to drip onto the ground. Zack dropped to a knee and coughed up a bit of blood onto the ground. He then yelled out in agony again as the pain just kept increasing. He tried though to place his one good hand over the wound to try and subvert the pain, but it stung upon his touch. He kept his head bent over, trying to take in deep breaths, while he tried to collect his thoughts on what was going on.

The first thing he thought on, was that couldn't help but notice the way that Sephiroth was acting. Sure he had become more cold and ruthless after accepting the darkness. But now, it was more than that. He almost seemed… deranged. It's almost as if… the darkness was controlling him. Zack thought back to his time earlier with the battle with Sephiroth… after Cloud was injured... he had become crazed over fighting Sephiroth. It was the darkness that had controlled him then.

He knew that he had to find some way to fight Sephiroth still, but there didn't seem to be a way with such injuries now. And if the darkness was truly controlling Sephiroth, Zack still wanted to find a way to bring him back. But from how he had been acting… he seemed to be too far gone already. Besides that, all of the pain was making it hard to see straight. Zack's vision had stared to blur ever so slightly. He knew the situation was bleak now.

Zack sighed as he thought to himself quickly. " _Come on Zack...you can't give up now. They're counting on you. What would Cloud think if you were to just quit. I want to save everyone. No matter what, I must fight this, even if it means..."_

He didn't want to think about that last part too much. He summoned the strength that he had and placed his hand on the sword next to him. His grip tightened around the large handle as he tried to lift it. He was able to bring it up enough to plant the end in the ground in order to use it as a crutch for him to stand. After a few seconds of struggling, Zack finally managed to get to his feet.

However, it was all for naught as Sephiroth rushed in and flung the sword away by lunging at it with his sword. The sword flew to the side, and clattered when it hit the ground. In less than a second, once the sword had left his grip Zack toppled back to the ground. He let out another groan as he hit the ground, and now it was near much harder to try and stand again. Sephiroth just looked down upon him with a sinister glare. Before Zack had time to process anything, he felt Sephiroth's boot forcefully collide into his side, knocking him back a few feet. Zack tried to muffle his cry of pain, but everything was feeling a whole lot worse now.

Zack grimaced in pain as his side and his stomach now were hurting tenfold. His arm had finally gone numb from the puncture. He had lost all use of it. Zack laid there on his back and brought his right hand up to cover his stomach wound again. He took in a sharp breath as he felt pain from the pressure. But at least he wanted try to stop some of the bleeding. As he held his hand there, the sharp pain continued to burn through his stomach. No matter what he did the pain wouldn't stop. Now was the time he desperately wished he had a Hi-Potion. As the pain refused to die down, his mind became lost in his many thoughts on what was happening.

" _Is this it? Am I really...going to die here? I can't say I haven't lived a good life, though I wish things would have been better sometimes. I wish that all of this would not have happened...if only Cloud…"_ Zack was thinking as his mind started to drift off as he felt tired.

However, as he started to fade, a thought crossed his mind. " _Cloud! He's still waiting on me. And Aqua too. They're both depending on me and waiting for me to get back. And I promised them I would. I've gotta get up. I've gotta fight. Somehow...there must be a way."_

Zack finally snapped out of his daze and started to try to move, despite the intense pain. He grunted as he managed to finally sit up into an upright position. His breathing intensified as the hole in his stomach began to hurt more as the pressure on it increased from his sitting position. He looked around him and saw that the sword was just a few feet away from him. He slowly crawled closer and reached for it and clutched its' handle tightly in his hand. Using all of his strength that he had he managed to plant the tip of it back in the ground and managed to stand up once more. After standing there for a few seconds, Zack finally pushed the pain out of his mind as he began to walk forward towards Sephiroth. He dragged the sword along the ground as he got closer to his former friend.

Sephiroth stood there waiting for Zack, citing his impression with his resolve. "My my, look who's trying to be the hero again. Color me impressed that you can still fight with that wound. You really have gotten stronger Zack. Or is it just denial of the inevitable?"

Zack didn't speak, or rather tried not to so that he could keep the pain away a bit. He approached Sephiroth finally as he found the words he needed. "I will fight… for my friends. As long as there is breath left in me I will fight for them. You used to be my friend, but now it seems you are lost forever. But I'll do what I have to, to get back and keep the promise I made," Zack broke off as he cracked a smile. "After all, that's what a hero does."

Sephiroth was about to stifle a slick grin, but then he felt something coming from Zack. There was an air of confidence around him again. It was almost as if he was bathed in the light once again. Even though nothing was visible to him, he could feel the pressure of it. He scoffed at the thought of the light now.

"I guess it's your hope that keeps you going. Even after all of this you still stride to keep going. Well, no matter. I'll make sure to end this for good now. I have no use for you since you're not willing to listen."

As Sephiroth finished his words, Zack was upon him quickly. Surprised, Sephiroth instinctively jumped backwards quickly to avoid the swing of the large sword that he almost did not see coming. Although it rarely happened, for once, Sephiroth was a bit puzzled by what he had just witnessed. He knew that Zack was on the verge of collapse just a few minutes ago, or at least what seemed like a few minutes. But there was something different now when he looked upon him. There was a glimmer in his eyes now.

Zack was actually surprised at his renewed energy. Although he could still not feel his left arm, and his stomach was still in pain. It was almost as if none of that mattered as he could no longer feel any of it. He felt warm and light on his feet. Even the sword felt lighter than it was before as he was able to grasp it cleanly with one hand. He could tell there was a definite change, but he was unsure of what had actually occurred. All he knew is that he now had strength again, and he could finally put this battle to rest for good.

Sephiroth did not want to waste anymore time there. He was a patient man, but he felt that he had waited long enough. He started to build up the energy that he had left and focused it into his sword. He started to dash at Zack, and as he got close, Zack was able to bring up his sword to block the shot, but Sephiroth had too much force behind it. He swung his Masamune upward and it sent Zack into the air.

Zack knew exactly what Sephiroth was trying to do now, so he was prepared for it. He lost sight of Sephiroth for a brief moment, but then he saw him reappear right behind him. Sephiroth was trying to use his Octaslash on him, and as he closed in for the next shot, Zack was prepared and blocked the slash. The collision sent a shockwave echoing through the Realm of Darkness once again.

Sephiroth tried to brush off this sudden surprise by Zack as he teleported away again and attempted the next strike. However, Zack continued to block each one of them swiftly as Sephiroth grew more agitated with each time as he thought to himself briefly.

" _Why is Zack so strong now? He was so weak before, but now I feel the light coming from him. The darkness is supposed to be all powerful. The light can't win against it, right?"_

As he was distracted, Zack finally swung back as he caught Sephiroth off guard for a split second. He bounced Sephiroth's sword back as he then delivered a swift strike of his own.

"I'll use everything you taught me to be able to defeat you. So take this!"

Zack then disappeared behind Sephiroth and delivered a second strike to him. He continued this pattern as he teleported all around Sephiroth at different angles and struck him with an Octaslash of his own. After the eighth hit, he raised his sword up and brought it down upon Sephiroth, sending him crashing to the ground. The ground cracked slightly at the impact as dust rose up, covering the area where Sephiroth had just landed.

Zack floated down to the ground afterwards as he felt exhausted. That move had used up much of his energy and he felt drained, but he knew that things were not done. The burst of energy he had suddenly gotten was fading quickly as he waited for Sephiroth to get back up. There was only one thing he could do now to make sure this ended. Zack despaired at what this decision would mean, but he knew that it had to be done. He closed his eyes and focused.

Sephiroth was in pain as he was trying to get back up. He was covered in slash marks as his body ached and his clothes were tattered and torn now. Blood dripped softly from the fresh wounds that had just been made. His breathing increased as his head started to spin a litte. However, his anger had also increased at being pummeled like that as he finally stood up.

Zack started to approach Sephiroth once again as soon as he saw his silhouette. He broke out into a run as fast as he could as he raised the sword up. He angled the sword with the blade pointed forward as he continued his rush, getting closer to Sephiroth now.

Sephiroth was blinded by a bit of rage as he turned around swiftly to speak again.

"Zack! I…"

His words were cut short by the large blade that had just pierced his torso. Zack drove the sword completely through Sephiroth, the blade of the sword hanging out of the other side as blood dripped from the gaping wound that he had just created. Zack's eyes showed a mix of emotions as he had that fiery determination, but also sadness as he looked upon Sephiroth. A small, single tear fell from Zack's face as he held on to the sword for as long as he could.

Sephiroth gasped for air as almost every vital organ in his chest had just been ruined. He coughed up blood in large portions onto the ground in front of Zack. He tried to speak but he couldn't find the air to do it at the moment. He staggered for a few moments, gagging on the blood filling his mouth. With no more strength left, he toppled backwards to the ground with the sword still stuck in him.

Zack stood there in disbelief for a moment. The weight of the sword was removed from him now, as well of the weight of a decade-long battle. He knew things were finally over as let out a long exhale. He tried to move forward, but his legs felt like twigs as soon as he took one step. He gave into the exhaustion and collapsed to his knees before laying down on his back. He inhaled deeply and sighed. He was relieved, but at the same time, he was also pained.

Sephiroth knew that he was dying, and there was no way to stop it. He wondered if he had been wrong all of this time as he laid there. He wondered if he had chosen to remain on his original path if things would have been different. But, none of that could change now. He tried to use his last remaining breath to speak.

"I didn't expect you to find such reserves of energy. Hmpf...as expected...of a hero…"

Zack faintly heard those final words, and they cut into him more deeply than any wound he had suffered. He wondered if maybe the darkness had lessened it's hold on Sephiroth as he was dying, but now he would never know exactly what was going on.

"Sorry… it had to end this way. You were once my friend… but it's all over now. I can't find myself to ever forgive you, not after everything you did, but… just… sorry," Zack said as he let out one long sigh. He stared up at the darkness filled sky for a moment before turning his head to the side.

He stopped thinking or caring about Sephiroth now and his thoughts started focusing on other things. "I guess I won't be able to make it back to you for Cloud. Sorry… that I broke my promise again. And I guess I won't be able to have that date with you Aqua. I guess though... maybe I finally did become...a hero."

Zack managed to let out a small chuckle as he smiled. "I'm a hero… but no one's here to witness it. Figures. Still… I've finally become the hero I wanted to be." Zack barely was able to think of those last words before everything faded into nothingness.

* * *

And there we have the end of that extra long chapter. There was a lot of things that happened here in the big moment, and of course a lot more angst to present. This had been planned for quite some time and I'm so glad we were finally able to get it written out for all of you. I hope that you all enjoyed reading it, and let us know if you do. As always, until the next time!


	12. Chapter 12

Hello and welcome back once again to the next and last chapter in this story, with my co-author **RikuKingdomHearts**. We had the idea for this one in mind for a while now, and funnily enough, it ended up being much longer than we expected. But we hope that you do enjoy this chapter. So without any more waiting, let's get to it!

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

Aqua and Cloud were slowly walking around. They had been walking for a while now, just mostly lost in their thoughts. After realizing they had been brought back to the realm of light, it had taken them some time to really understand that. The fact that Zack had stayed behind still hung heavy in their hearts, but they managed to press on. They had figured out that they were back in Radiant Garden, the world that all of them had been in before being cast into the Realm of the Darkness.

It had been three days since that fateful moment when they were returned back to Radiant Garden. After getting back, Aqua slept for nearly two whole days before being able to regain her sense of awareness, as being trapped in the Realm of Darkness for so long had altered her perspectives slightly. She had then tried to figure out what they should do next, but her thoughts were still a bit foggy.

Cloud on the other hand, was not able to get any rest at all as he was in constant worry about his brother Zack. He had spent the last three days mainly pacing around outside of Radiant Garden, lost in his own thoughts. When Aqua had awoken and learned of this, she went to be with him to try and give him some company to try and ease his troubled mind. She had attempted to get him to head back into the town with her and get some rest, but he refused.

The two of them continued to walked around the outside of the main town, as they didn't quite feel like heading back through the town yet. Aqua was going to stay there with Cloud until he decided to head back in. They also didn't really feel like doing anything yet. Even though Aqua had wanted to help Cloud, the two of them only walked around and barely spoke to one another. Though, both of them still had the same topic on their mind.

Each of them were wondering if they would ever actually see Zack again. With the only door to light having closed with him trapped on the other side, the possibility of him coming back to them started to seem quite low. Even with them sharing the same thoughts, each of them had different methods of dealing with not having Zack there as they continued to pace. Both were lost in their own heads with only their rambling thoughts to accompany them.

Though Cloud knew Zack wanted him to be strong, it still was a struggle to keep himself from breaking down. Cloud slowly started to slow his pace until he came to a complete stop. Aqua soon noticed this and turned around and looked at the sulleded young man.

"Cloud?" she asked as she walked back to him.

"I guess I'm still worried… about Zack. I know what we talked about before… but I can't stop worrying about what could have happened."

Aqua frowned a little as she nodded. "I know. I have those same thoughts. But we have to stay strong for Zack. I can feel it in my heart… we will see him again."

Cloud sighed, but ended up smiling a little. "Thanks Aqua."

"Are you ready to head back into Radiant Garden yet or do you want to walk around a little more?" Aqua asked as she looked in the direction of the main part of the town.

"Not yet… just a little more walking around I guess," Cloud replied.

Aqua nodded in understanding and the two continued walking along the outside of the town. Even though Aqua kept advising Cloud to not worry about seeing Zack, she couldn't help but feel uneasy sometimes. However, she thought back to everything that Zack had done in the past, and he had always seemed to keep his word. She smiled a bit at the thought, reassuring herself that even though the situation looked bleak, that he would be back. Sometime.

As they walked a little bit further, they noticed something on the ground. The two froze in their tracks as they stared down at what laided several feel in front of them. They only glanced at each other for a single moment before running over to the figure. Both of them hoping it was who they thought it was.

As they got closer they both immediately recognized the familiar black spikey hair. They almost couldn't believe their eyes as they were seeing Zack right before them. Aqua stopped just a few inches in front of Zack and looked at him. He was laying on his side and they could clearly see he was covered in gashed and cuts. Blood was caked all over his face and body, and it seemed that his shirt was fairly soaked in blood as well. His breathing also raised concerned as it was very faint and almost not noticeable.

Without a moment of hesitation Aqua raised her hand over Zack and casted Curaga over Zack. The wounds slowly started to heal up a little and faded slightly. Zack's breathing also seemed to get a small bit stronger. With a sigh of relief Aqua kneeled down and shifted Zack slowly, just in case he was still in any pain. She gently placed his head on her legs as watched him carefully to make sure he was still breathing normally.

Cloud was still standing a few feet back from them as he did not rush there immediately. His eyes were wide in shock as his breathing increased dramatically. His mind blanked out for a few seconds as he was trying to process what he was witnessing before him.

"Z...Zack. It's...you. You, did come back after all. I...I…" Cloud trailed off as he was unable to finish his sentence as his throat tightened around his vocal chords.

His mind suddenly started racing with all of the fears he had of Zack never coming back, and all of the doubts that he had of his brother keeping his promise to him to come back. There were many thoughts that Cloud could not even think through clearly, as he felt tears beginning to form in his eyes. He wanted to feel embarrassed almost, but at that moment, all of his cares had left him. He was overwhelmed with joy to see his brother back with him again as he ran forward and slid down beside Zack. He rested his head against his chest and sobbed onto him, soaking Zack's shirt more than it had already been with the blood stains.

"Cloud… Are you okay?" Aqua asked as she looked at Cloud. She stared at Cloud sobbing for a moment, a little surprised, but she then thought of it being understandable. Cloud had spent the past three days so stressed and worried, she knew that emotion would spill out eventually. It pained her though to see Cloud so overwhelmed, she wanted to say more to try to comfort him, but she had no idea what to ever say.

Cloud raised his head slightly to meet Aqua's eyes. His eyes were red and covered with tears, as other parts of his face was stained with Zack's blood now. He opened his mouth and tried to find the words to say, but he was still choked up from all of the emotional stress.

"I'm...just...happy...and I was worried...and sad...and...it's a bunch...of things…" Cloud exasperated through short breaths, his breathing still heavy as his chest rose and fell rapidly. Then, he laid his head back on Zack's chest and rested there, not wanting to leave his brother's side right now for anything.

Several minutes passed of the two of them just sitting there with Zack as he was still seemingly in a deep sleep. Cloud's sobbing had just about stopped now, as his breathing finally was returning to a normal state. He raised his head and used his sleeve to wipe the tears from his eyes. Aqua still had Zack's head on her lap as she gazed upon his face in silence, thinking of how peaceful he looked laying there with a smile on his face.

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind as she raised her head up.

"Hey, Cloud," Aqua said, hoping to grab his attention

Cloud looked up at Aqua and the two of them stared at each other for a few seconds before Aqua continued what she wanted to say.

"I didn't question it until now, but how exactly did he get back? There was nothing to use to come back. I know I should just be happy he is here, but I'm just curious," Aqua trailed off as she became lost in thought at this topic.

Cloud thought for a moment before shrugging his shoulders, as he did not really have a clue as to how Zack was there now.

"It doesn't matter. He's here now with us," Cloud stated bluntly as if to not want to touch on that topic again. "However...if he's here, then I wonder if Sephiroth is too."

Cloud looked around a few times, glancing at different areas. If Sephiroth was here, then he would have come out at the same place together, but there was nobody else around. Cloud hoped that Sephiroth was not around, as he did not want to have to deal with him anymore. He casted that thought aside for now and focused back on Zack.

Zack was still sleeping soundly, with no sign of being bothered by anything happening around him. Cloud had started to worry though, as he had hoped that after this time Zack would have woken back up. His mind started to race again as he tried to find a way to help.

"Hey Aqua," Cloud shakily said. "Do you think...casting another healing spell on Zack would help to wake him up? I'm just worried is all."

Aqua looked to Cloud before looking at Zack's peaceful face. Seeing Zack sleep so soundly with no signs that he was going to wake up soon started to worry her more now that she really was thinking about it. Without realizing it, a memory came to the front of her mind. A certain memory that made her shudder a little.

"I… I don't know…" Aqua said as she lowered her head. Letting the memory stay in her mind. Was this just like it was back then? It couldn't be that. Aqua couldn't think of a way for it to be that way. And she refused to believe that would ever be the case. Determination filled up in her, she wasn't going to get down that easily. Zack wouldn't want her to give up on him.

She looked at Cloud once more. "I'll try though. Better to always try than not at all."

Aqua placed her hand on Zack's forehead and casted Curaga again. The light green glow flowed over Zack's body, healing up more smaller scars and wounds that didn't fully heal the first time.

Both Cloud and Aqua held their breath as they waited a moment. And in the next few seconds Zack stirred and groaned. He slowly opened his eyes and quickly shut them as they light was a bit brighter than he remembered.

Rubbing his head he groaned again as he slowly sat up and finally looked around him to see Aqua and Cloud sitting right next to him. He blinked a few times, as he was wanting to make sure that he was not seeing illusions. Though, Zack thought that he could also have been dead, especially considering the last thing that he remembered. After rubbing his eyes to alleviate his blurry vision, he refocused and sure enough, Cloud and Aqua were there staring right at him.

"Where...where am I exactly? The last thing I remember is passing out in the Realm of Darkness, and I was thinking of you two as well. I thought that I wouldn't be able to keep my promise that I made to you both. Is...is this really happening though?" he questioned to them as he was still trying to gather his composure.

Without having any answers given to him, the next moment for Zack was nearly being tackled to the ground by a surprise hug from Cloud. "Zack…" Cloud muttered as he rested his head against Zack's shoulder. "You're alive...I… I'm…" Cloud trailed off, unable to finish his words as tears started to fall from his face again.

Zack grunted a bit as Cloud was squeezing him quite a bit hard, but he smiled slightly upon seeing his brother so happy to see him. He raised an arm and put it behind Cloud's head, letting him know that he appreciated it.

"Hey Cloud, long time no see. It feels like I just saw you only what seems like a few hours ago. But I'm glad to see you all again. I thought I was a goner there. At least I'm back here now apparently, wherever here is," Zack said as he continued the embrace with Cloud.

Cloud continued to sob as he started to ramble. "I thought I was never going to see you again. We waited three days and didn't know what was going to happen, and I was so worried about you because I didn't want you to have left me again. But...it's kinda relaxing that we are finally reunited in the same place that you first left me…" Cloud trailed off while he sobbed a bit more and tried to compose himself slightly more.

Zack had a puzzled look on his face from some of the things that cloud had mentioned, so he had to get answers.

"Wait, you said three days? I know it had not been that long since I last saw you two. But, I guess that does make sense as time flows slower in the Realm of Darkness. I'm sorry I made you guys wait," Zack said as he looked over to Aqua and gave her a grin. "But, Cloud said the place I first left him. Does that mean?..."

"Yes we're in Radiant Garden now. I guess the door to light put us back into the world from whence we were taken originally. At least, that's what I was thinking," Aqua stated to Zack.

"Radiant Garden?! But, how is that possible. Any idea how I got here then?"

Aqua shook her head. "No, neither of us know. We were just talking about that as you had began to wake up. But at least you're here now, so it doesn't matter."

Zack thought to himself for a moment. If they were in Radiant Garden, then the only thing that he wanted to know is how he got there. He passed out, and then suddenly, he had woken up here. Cloud and Aqua didn't seem to know how he had gotten there either. After thinking a little bit more he decided that Aqua was right and that it did not matter. He pushed that thought out of his mind now as he wanted to focus on reuniting with his friends.

"Yeah you're right Aqua," Zack responded. "I'm glad to be back. Though, I didn't think I was going to make it. I'm actually surprised that I'm still alive and...hey! My wounds are gone. I didn't even notice until just now. Boy it's nice to be able to use this arm again," Zack said as he raised his left arm slightly and moved it around. "You must have healed me Aqua. Thanks."

Aqua nodded gently at Zack and just continued to look at him. Suddenly, Zack felt a tug on his shirt as he noticed Cloud trying to get his attention. He looked at his younger, though now older brother, and patted him on the head gently. "What is it Cloud?"

Cloud had a more serious look in his eyes now. "Well, you said that you were surprised to be alive. I guess that the battle with Sephiroth must have been very difficult. But, I have to ask...what happened down there? And where is he?" Cloud said questioningly.

At hearing that request, Zack looked down and to the side as he remembered the battle that he and Sephiroth had had what only seemed just a little bit ago. He released Cloud from their embrace then. He placed a hand on his stomach, as the thought of it all was painful to say the least. It was something that still did not sit too well with him, after learning of what had actually happened to Sephiroth and the darkness. He figured that he should tell them the truth though.

"Well, you don't really have to worry about him anymore. He won't be bothering anyone anymore. Though… in our final confrontation, I discovered he was a victim of the darkness as well. He had allowed it to control him to the point of madness. I tried to reason with him, but it didn't work. So I did what I had to do," Zack stated coldly as he bowed his head again.

Cloud and Aqua were a bit shocked to hear that about Sephiroth, as it was something unexpected. However, Cloud was admittedly more relieved about it. Sephiroth had caused him nothing but pain and suffering for ten years. He was happy that he was gone now, no matter what had happened to him. He was just glad that it was Sephiroth that was gone and not Zack.

"I'm so glad that you made it out all right though. We were both worried about you so much. I know that I said it before, but I was just so scared that you weren't going to be able to keep your promise to me and come back," Cloud said with an almost sad look in his eyes.

Zack ruffled Cloud's hair, which made the boy squirm a bit. "Ah don't you worry Cloud. You know better than anyone that I always keep my promises. After all, that's what a big brother does. Well, technically you're the big brother now since you are physically older. But you sure are acting quite childish for someone four years my senior now," Zack chuckled loudly as he finished his sentence and he saw Cloud turn a bit red at that comment.

Zack's attention was then drawn over to Aqua, who was chuckled quietly at the brothers talking. Zack scooted over closer to Aqua and smiled. "Ah Aqua, aren't you a sight for sore eyes." Zack reached around and placed a arm around Aqua and pulled her into an embrace.

Aqua smiled cheerfully as a little red started to show on her cheeks. "It's good to see you to Zack."

Zack pulled back from their embraced and looked Aqua directly in the eyes. "You were really worried about me weren't you?"

Aqua nodded. "After everything we went through of course I would worry. You risked your life to ensure Cloud and I got out of the Realm of Darkness safety. I can't thank you enough for that."

"Well," Zack started as he looked thoughtful. "You know there is a way to thank me. The date remember?"

Aqua's blush became far more prominent now as he looked away. But she ended up laughing a small bit. "You still are thinking about that after all this time."

"Of course, it was one of the things that kept me going," Zack smiled. "To see you again and spend a day with you. It was something I kept looking forward too."

Zack leaned his face in closer to Aqua's. She looked back at him, their faces right in front of each other. "You know," Zack started. "There also was that other thing too."

"The other thing?" Aqua asked as she kept her eyes locked with Zack's.

"Yeah. Just before you guys were brought back here. Don't tell me you forgot."

Aqua's eyes widened for a moment as she turned her head away again. Zack could see that her cheeks were still red. "Ah… N-No I didn't forget. Something like that… O-Of course not."

Zack closed his eyes as he grinned. "Well that's good to hear."

"You did catch me by surprise though back then," Aqua said. "But…"

Zack opened his eyes again as he looked at Aqua with a confused glace. "But what?"

Aqua looked back at Zack once more before leaning in closer to his face. She gave a small smile before gently pressing her lips against Zack's.

Now it was Zack's turn to be surprised for once. Just like the first kiss, it only lasted a short bit. Zack still stared wide-eyed even after Aqua had finished her kiss.

He struggled to find the words for the moment, but he almost couldn't even process it. Aqua had kissed him! She had just gave him a kiss without even saying anything. He didn't even know what to think for that. Finally though something at least came to mind.

"A-Aqua... Y-You..."

Aqua laughed sweetly. "You're a hero now, aren't you? I felt like you deserved one after everything you've done."

Zack was a bit flustered as he did not expect Aqua to be as forward as he had been, especially with the way she had acted before. After a few seconds of just staring, he seemed to finally be able to collect his thoughts and process what had happened.

"Aqua...that means a lot," Zack said softly as he gave her her the biggest grin. "I guess though I am a hero now. And hey, I kept my promise to you as well. I told you I would be back once I became a hero, remember?" Zack prodded as he chuckled slightly.

"Yeah, you did keep your promise after all. I guess you really did take after Terra," Aqua stated as she thought about her other friend.

"Ah yea Terra! Now that we're back, we should find him. And Ven. It's been so long and I bet they've changed quite a bit."

Aqua bowed her head, knowing what had happened the last time she had seen both of them. But, just like with Zack, she had hope that after all of this time, things were okay with them. "You're right. I do want to find them. And I know you do as well."

"Well then it's settled. I guess that can be our next thing to do," Zack said with enthusiasm as he tried to stand up. However, his knees started to buckle on him, but Cloud and Aqua were ready and they were able to catch him by each arm to give him support. "Well, maybe I need to rest a bit more first though, haha."

Cloud and Aqua looked at Zack and nodded in agreement. The two of them accompanied Zack, one on each arm, as the trio made their way back into the town of Radiant Garden. Now they were all reunited and back where they belonged as they waited for the next adventure.

* * *

And there we go with the end of that chapter, and the end of this story. It's kind of bittersweet, as this is my very first fanfic ever. I am happy to have one finished, but I am also sad to let this one go as well. Though who knows, maybe there could be more later. :P  
Anyways, I really hope that you guys have enjoyed this story and all that it has to offer. If you did let us know. Last but not least, I wanna say a HUGE thank you to **RikuKingdomHearts** for helping this story come to life and having it last as long as we have. Be sure to check out all the stories on her page as there are many there. (And also we have a new story up on her page as well if you want some more Zack and Cloud things. XD) Again, thank you all, and I will see you in another story!


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